Bible Believers Are NOT Protestants
I was just thinking about this the other day when I
had to fill out another form (of one kind or another), and when it got to
religion … it didn’t have mine. I am not
a Protestant; I am a Bible Believer. The
reason I associate with the Baptists most is because the Baptists (up until
recently) have been most closely aligned to Bible Believers. Ever since “Willow Creek Church” and “Saddleback
Community Church” popped on the scene with its easy believism approach to
Christianity, there has been a shift in what the Gospel “really” means and that
doctrine is to be divided up into essential and non-essential categories. Bible Believers reject this. The fact that many Baptist churches are
buying into these concepts is what causes me to call myself a Bible Believer
instead of a Baptist. Does that mean
that I do not associate with Baptists … no it does not. The same way it does not prevent me for being
an influence to persons from any other religious group.
So … why do I say Bible Believers are NOT
Protestants? Simply because … we are NOT
Protestants. In the frame below, the
beginnings of various religious groups are shown. This is misleading because, although we can
trace the beginnings of the Baptist faith, the Baptists trace their roots to
the Apostolic Church. To be a protestant
is to say that you were once part of the “true” church … the Roman Catholic
Church. The Roman Catholic Church claims
that Peter was given the “keys” to the kingdom and the mysteries of God (boy I
can go for a long time on this area).
That is why they claim (falsely so) their beginnings to be 33A.D.
The Catholic Church decrees that Baptists are part of
the group that PROTESTED (hence – Protestant Reformation) the Catholic Church
and began the Protestant Reformation.
There are many things that happened as a result of the Protestant
Reformation that has hurt “churches” badly even until today … but … we don’t
have time to go there right now. Baptist
… and many other Christian groups not mentioned on “forms,” were not spawns of
the Catholic Church. We have never been
part or associated with the false teaching or crimes (Inquisition, etc)
perpetrated by the Catholic Church. Let
me say a word about the Crusades, since it is relevant to a false statement by
our illustrious President that the Crusades were evil. The Crusades, in themselves, were not evil;
they were totally necessary to prevent the onslaught of the Muslims from
capturing Europe. If not for the
Crusades, all of Europe would today be Muslim … that would be a terrible thing
for the world. However, I do acknowledge
that there were Crusaders that committed unspeakable acts against other human
beings. My point in this is that Bible
Believers are not associated with the people who committed these acts … Bible
Believers have NO connection with the Catholic Church, in fact, we were
persecuted by the Catholic Church as being heretics in the Inquisition, and
many were forced to bow their allegiance to the Church instead of the truth of
the Gospel. I, for one, being a Bible
Believer adamantly deny being part of the Catholic Church in any way, shape, or
form. Our cousins were the Anabaptists,
the Waldensians, the Moravians, etc. We
were all persecuted for NOT being part of the Catholic Church; and therefore,
we are not Protestants
In the frame above, House says that you cannot “reason”
with religious people. Let me make
another statement: I hate religion! My
faith is not a religion, for a religion is man-made. The Catholic Church is a religion … it is man-made. True Christianity is a relationship with God
provided exclusively by the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross and his
resurrection from the dead. It is
God-made! I have NO relationship with
God without the blood of Jesus applied to my life … plus and minus
nothing! So House … you are right. People who place their eternal destinies on a
man-made faith have no clue. That is why
it is so important for true believers to be relevant Ambassador’s for Christ to
their worlds of influence: where they live, work, and play. It is vital for us to be F.I.T. with a F-aith
that I-nfluences T-day!
I am beginning a Running Club in the University Area
of Charlotte so I can do just that. I
want to live life with ordinary people so they can see a difference in me and
want to know what I have. The essence of the Gospel (the death, burial, and
resurrection of Christ) is to be lived daily.
It is not to be contrived … it is to be genuine, heartfelt, and
compassionate. We must be IN the world
while not being OF the world. That is
what will win the trust and respect of those outside the Body of Christ. It is important for Bible Believers to know
what they believe and know from whence they came: we are NOT, nor have ever
been Protestants!
Live OUT LOUD!
Mark Harrell – Habakkuk 2:2
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