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Protestant Reformation X Restoration of the Church. There is a striking difference between both, see what the majority of self-proclaimed Christians are based upon.
Objective:
This study aims to show how much spiritual blindness has left people increasingly distant from biblical truths, due to the fact that they listen to and follow the voice of strangers, wolves in sheep's clothing.
Many are the theologians and teachers who with their merely human theories are contributing more and more to the decline of religious institutions. Theories on which they base their reforms, their adjustments, and without any scruples, go downhill, in contraposition to God's purpose, which is to restore His Church. These wolves, without any commitment to truth, further corrupt the hearts of those who call themselves Christians, those also known as nominal Christians or believers, because they deny with their works, the faith they say they have in Jesus Christ.
As for the servants of the Lord Jesus, the Church, His bride, in contraposition to the religious world and its apostasy, raises the flag to make it clear that we are living in the time of the restoration of all things, persevering in the doctrines of the apostles.
Base text: Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Acts 3:19-24.
Historical fact:
Protestant Reformation.
On October 31, 2017 people from all over the world celebrated 500 years of the so-called Protestant Reformation.
See below a text extracted from a publication made on a news website:
(On October 31, 1517, German Martin Luther, former Catholic monk, presented 95 theses or proposals for changes in the Church. Luther's reformism ended up creating Protestantism, with followers scattered throughout the world. "Martin Luther led man to think about his smallness before things and at the same time about the grandeur of being created by God and God is the center of all things for us", states Reverend Roberto Brasileiro, president of the council of the Presbyterian Church. One of the most important and significant places for Brazilian Protestants is where today is the Island of Vilegnhol. It was there, where the Naval School of Rio operates, where the first Protestant service in Brazil took place in 1557. And it was eternalized by a memorial).
Important considerations about this reformation:
- Luther's reform did not break all ties with the teachings disseminated by other reforms that occurred previously, nor with the very inventions of Catholicism, such as for example the charging of indulgences, the doctrine of the trinity which is followed by the majority of today's "evangelicals", among others.
- It was in the reforms that occurred before Luther, where the assertion of the existence of three distinct gods, but one in unity, with the same purpose being: "god the father, god the son and god the holy spirit", a doctrine quite strange, it must be said, such assertion was never in accordance with the Word of God.
- The most well-known reform by the religious world before Luther, was carried out in the year 325 AD, by the simple lack of acceptance that Jesus was and is the Only and True God and eternal life. This truth seemed confusing to them, because many did not accept it, just as today a large number of "religious" people continue not to accept biblical truths, preferring to remain in a lie that seems more acceptable to them.
- In the year 325 AD there was then the organization of the first Council of Nicaea, made by the Roman Emperor Constantine, a pagan who had as his god, the sun. But he saw this reform as being a way to unite religion and politics, aiming at personal interests. His greatest objective, like all politicians, was the acceptance and support of the people in relation to his political and religious authority, which he did not previously possess. This was a strategy used by Constantine, since killing true Christians was not yielding results, for the more people died to honor the Name of Jesus, the more the number of the saved increased, thereby multiplying the number of people willing to die for this Glorious Name.
- Although Luther initiated this movement named Protestantism, he still maintained beliefs created by Catholicism, and all of them without any biblical basis.
- The so-called Protestant reformation initiated by Luther was indeed an important milestone, for bringing to light the barbarities practiced by the Catholic church and also for leading the people to reflect on issues such as the way work was seen, the conquest in religious freedom, the separation of state and church, the advancement in education with public teaching, and much more. However, even with the reformation the people remained very far from biblical truths, since it was not highlighted the need to remain in the Word of God, obeying all the true doctrines left by Our Jesus to his apostles.
- The majority of denominations that have emerged from Protestantism have carried with them much baggage from what was invented by Catholicism, such as the trinity already mentioned, baptism not being in the Name of Jesus, women not wearing the veil to pray and prophesy, celebration of the "supper" in any way, exposure of the body, among others. The posture of denominations post-reformation was demonstrated from the beginning, just as many today have made clear there is tremendous disrespect with all apostolic doctrines, remaining in apostasy, far from the truth.
- The mass "evangelizations" and crusades that occurred and still occur throughout the world, driven by the reformation movement initiated more than 500 years ago, were actually and have been in certain situations more of a disservice than a service rendered to God. Sometimes they do more the propagation of doctrines of men, as well as the trinity, the belief in three gods, and so many other inventions of paganism, aimed at idolatry even if in disguised form, not focusing on Jesus as being the Only True God, who became flesh and came to this world.
- The need for a real and total transformation is not highlighted, of abandonment of sin and restoration and baptism in the Only Name that saves, Jesus.
- They do not pay attention to the teachings of Jesus Christ, insisting on distorting the Word of God, with teachings that are far from being the sound doctrine left by Our Lord. In truth, they are forms of dissemination of apostasy by announcers of the broad gate, where there is no commitment to Biblical truths and which will lead many to the lake of fire and brimstone.
There is a tremendous difference between Reformation and Restoration.
On Reformation:
1). In reformations there is no concern with maintaining the original aspects, and what is always broken, destroyed or changed as necessary to achieve the objective of passing an idea that it is something current, new, contemporary, without any relation to what was before and caused some discomfort.
2). Reformations always emerge with the thought of the need to break with the past, with the idea of needing to make changes to what is considered outdated, obsolete and that needs to give a new vision, a more updated form, in short something modernized.
3). Reformations for the most part are made with the purpose of pleasing and gaining acceptance from people, those who reject what they consider things of the past, which for them did not follow the "evolution" of the world.
4). Reformations are considered successful when the observer who knew the monument, or the work before the changes, is not led to the past, when faced with what was reformed, that is, when he cannot remember what it was like before his aspects were altered, what went through such a process.
5). Reformations or adjustments should never be considered in matters related to obedience to the Bible, because such actions caused man to be led far away from the plan of salvation of the Lord Jesus.
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Example:
Have you ever observed or done renovations in a house?
Well, this example can be applied to anything that undergoes renovations. In the renovation of a house, once having defined how it will look after the process, the tools initially most used are the sledgehammer and the hammer. When the team responsible for the work arrives, it soon starts breaking down the walls, and narrow doors are removed and even larger passages are opened, without any concern for the destruction necessary to do what was proposed.
As a rule, renovations in houses usually occur to change visual aspects, and with that floors are changed, wall colors are changed, ceiling colors are changed, textures are applied, wallpaper is placed, adjustments are made to the lighting to highlight and adapt to the renovation carried out.
Unfortunately, renovations have been done contrary to matters related to the gospel, and consequently have distanced man from God's purpose, which is the restoration of His Church.
Is there a problem in making renovations?
- Renovation in things made by men for men:
- When the question is to change, renovate something that was created by man and for man, it is obvious that there is no problem at all, because we do this always, all the time, especially because many times what man does does not even please himself, and when the concern is the satisfaction of others, it does not always happen. Because it is something done for self-contentment, it can be renovated, changed, painted, broken as much as one deems necessary.
- Renovation in something that God created for men to please Himself:
- Not even in this case should we have a very different posture, especially when it comes to spiritual matters related to salvation. Regarding earthly things, we see in creation that everything that was created by God was good and very good, and this not only for Himself, because we see that God's greatest concern was to create a pleasant environment to place us here, and yet He gave us the earth so that we could cultivate it, transform it, obviously with responsibility.
- The freedom granted by God regarding earthly things was not extended to matters related to salvation. In this point God is inflexible, and the option that is left to His children is unique and quite simple: obey. God created the laws and instituted them with a spiritual purpose, it is not permitted to us to alter, adjust, renovate nor even "improve" them. All of this for a very simple reason: we are limited and do not understand what the impacts would be if we opted to interfere with what was instituted by God.
- Attempting to adapt God's orders can bring terrible consequences:
- Reading the Word of God in the book of 1 Samuel 15, we see that at a certain moment an order is given to King Saul, but he did not fulfill it, and decided to adapt the order that was given to him. Such an attitude by Saul caused God's fury, resulting in the loss of his kingdom, because Our Lord saw that David had a completely different posture and would walk according to His counsels, and placed him as Saul's replacement. To Saul it was said: "But Samuel said: Does the Lord have as much pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the word of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than to sacrifice; and to hearken is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king. 1 Samuel 15:22,23".
- The ordinances left by God never needed adaptations to achieve His objectives:
- It is as it is written, and from this text we see what falls to man to do: "Let the wicked man abandon his way, and the evil man his thoughts, and let him turn to the Lord, who will have compassion on him; let him return to our God, because He is great in forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it produce, and bud, and give seed to the sower, and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be, which comes from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall do what pleases me, and it shall prosper in that for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:7-11".
- The emergence of Grace was not a reformation of God's ordinances:
- The laws and ordinances left by God were never changed, nor reformed, because He does not err; we see, for example, Him fulfilling the law in Himself when He came to this world in human form. The Grace that was granted to us by the Lord Jesus was not a reformation or adaptation of the ordinances, but rather a favor that He gave us, because we know that the law only pointed to sin and served as a guide until Jesus Christ.
- As stated by the apostle Paul: "For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God gave it freely to Abraham through the promise. Then, what is the law for? It was ordained because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made; and it was put in the hand of a mediator by the angels. Now, the mediator is not of one alone, but God is one. Then, is the law against the promises of God? Not at all; because if a law had been given that could give life, truly righteousness would have been through the law. But the Scripture shut up everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to believers. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up for the faith that was about to be revealed. So the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith came, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. In this there is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:18-29".
- God's laws continue to be valid, obviously that in relation to sacrificial acts we no longer need to, because Jesus fulfilled it in Himself. Today we no longer sacrifice animals for the purification of our sins, nor do we keep Sabbaths or new moons. But we continue to be obligated not to covet anything that belongs to our neighbor, not to kill, not to steal, among others. Jesus summarized all His commandments into one: "A new commandment I give to you: That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34,35".
- We must keep ourselves in sound doctrine indeed, until Our Jesus comes to take His Church.
- At no moment was authority given to man to change, renovate or adapt anything of what was left as doctrine to be obeyed.
- Today we know many denominations that declare themselves reformed, that is, updated regarding doctrinal matters. Their leaders in their statements place most of what was left to us by Jesus and preached by His apostles as being cultural matters that do not apply to our days, but such attitudes arose from the hearts of men to please men. They are not in conformity with the holy scriptures.
- To the followers of the Lord Jesus it is said: "And because iniquity will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who perseveres to the end will be saved. 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 24:12-14". To persevere means to remain steadfast, and it is not worth being steadfast for only a time, but rather until the end. The perseverance and steadfastness that we need to have is in the instructions, in the teachings, in short in the doctrines that Jesus left for us to follow; otherwise we cannot count on salvation.
- Learning and persevering in sound doctrine, let us see the references:
- Isaiah 29:23,24: "But when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst, they will sanctify my name; yes, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will fear the God of Israel. And those erring in spirit will come to have understanding, and those murmuring will learn doctrine."
- Matthew 22:32,33: "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? Now, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And the multitudes, hearing this, were amazed at His doctrine."
- Luke 4:31,32: "And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbaths. And they were amazed at His doctrine, because His word was with authority".
- Titus 2:1: "But you speak what is fitting for sound doctrine".
- 1 Timothy 6:3-5: "If anyone teaches any other doctrine, and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine that is according to godliness, he is proud, and understands nothing, but delights in disputes and arguments over words, from which arise envy, strife, slander, evil suspicions, perverse disputings of men of corrupt mind, and destitute of the truth, thinking that godliness is a means of gain; withdraw yourself from such people."
Speaking About Restoration:
1). In restorations there is no similarity with the way reforms are done, because the main objective of a restoration is to maintain the original aspects, taking all care not to break, destroy or change anything, because this is necessary to achieve the goal of remaining faithful to what it was before, and that no one notices that there has been any alteration in all aspects of the work or monument that underwent such a process.
2). Restorations always arise with the thought of the necessity to maintain a relationship with the past, with the idea originally created and passed by the author of the work or monument.
3). Restorations are always done with the purpose of maintaining the values created by the author of the work or monument, without the concern of wanting to gain acceptance from people, from those who repudiate what they consider old things and from the past, who cannot see the real value left behind, but rather in preserving the legacy.
4). Restorations are considered successful when the observer who knew the monument, the work before deterioration, is taken back to the past every time they encounter the work or monument that underwent the restoration process.
Did you know that God has promised and is bringing to us the time of restoration of His church?
See Peter speaking about this time: “Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, And that he may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before. Whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God spoke by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the beginning. For Moses said to the fathers: The Lord your God will raise up to you a Prophet like me from among your brethren; him shall you hear in all things whatsoever he shall say to you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel, and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Acts 3:19-24”.
Well this is a totally different time, and the process cannot be done like the reforms of earthly houses. As said before in the reform of an earthly house, once having defined how it will be after the process, the tools initially most used are the sledgehammer and the hammer. However we God's people are His spiritual houses, and Our Restorer has come to us with all care, moving us by His Holy Spirit, and impelling us to return to first love, to fulfill everything that was left behind by the causers of reforms of the past, and to raise the banner and speak with authority about the need to obey the sound doctrine that was left by him, and was passed to us by his apostles.
The Owner of the Work is already acting, in Jo 10:7 he is reinforcing that he is the door of the sheep, that is the only guaranteed way to salvation, and that it is a narrow door. And in Jo 10:1 he makes it clear that all those who go by another way, by another path and do not enter through the door, are thieves and robbers, they are not shepherds.
Can you understand why many only care about what people contribute financially and do not focus on the need for repentance and conversion?
But all those who enter through the door, are indeed shepherds. These are those who preach the truth, because they do not negotiate the gospel, they do not care about their own satisfaction, but rather in preaching holiness and the need for repentance and return to the practice of sound doctrine.
Do not be deceived by alternative paths, which do not constrain you to obey the truths of Jesus, these paths lead to condemnation.
Conclusion:
A fragile foundation, adulterated, which will lead many to eternal condemnation:
The great majority of those we see today proclaiming themselves Christians are part of denominations that are sustained by ideas created and invented from the many reforms that emerged over time, not in the teachings, that is in the doctrines left by Jesus through his apostles. The Church of God must be founded and persevere in the doctrine of the apostles, just as it was created. Read Acts 2:42.
Abandonment and manipulation of sound doctrine, ignoring the original instructions:
Making a comparison with the Holy Scriptures, we can affirm that the denominations that arose with or after the so-called reforms, left behind everything they considered unnecessary, archaic, and this causes them to have no identity, no resemblance to the Church instituted by the one who came to this world and shed His pure blood, as a silent lamb to save those who had been lost and restore the altar of worship to Himself, Jesus Christ.
The doctrine of the trinity was an invention accepted by Constantine, who ordered the killing of those who opposed this idea, but the denominations accepted it and always fight against those who defend the Word of God, persecuting those who affirm the existence of One True God and Eternal Life, Jesus Christ, the Word that became flesh.
Baptism in the Name of Jesus, the only one performed by the apostles of Jesus Christ was replaced by the use of titles instituted by the doctrine of the trinity, contrary to the Sacred Scriptures, which states in Acts 4:12 that in no other name is there salvation, and all baptisms performed by the apostles.
To contradict the doctrine of the use of a veil for praying and prophesying, several arguments are used, from the fact that it was a cultural matter, to the fact that it was the prostitutes who used it to make a difference, because according to the allegations they came with shaved hair when they converted, but the use was left behind when the hair grew. Such allegations have no biblical support, because in 1 Corinthians 11:5 it is said: every woman who prays or prophesies without the veil, that is, with her head uncovered, dishonors her own head, if it was said every woman, it does not apply only to converted prostitutes, but to all, agree?
Decent garments and distinction between women's and men's clothing, this other critical point, because in diverse denominations there is no concern at all in having decency in clothing for both men and women, some pretend that there is a distinction in dress between women and men, however women dress in their mini skirts and claim that a long skirt does not save anyone, well there is an observation for that, if a long skirt where there should be decency does not save, a short one even less. But the problem goes beyond that, sensuality is in all, both in women with their skirts, their necklines and tight pants, as well as in men who wear shirts and pants in the same way. Such attitudes go against the scriptures, in which it is explicit about lasciviousness: “For the works of the flesh are manifest, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatreds, variance, emulations, wraths, strivings, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21”.
Lord's Supper and washing of feet, for the celebration of the supper, many think they are going beyond what is written, with the false pretense of desiring more holiness. The Word of God commands that the celebration of the supper be annual, and that unleavened bread and pure wine be used, and that it be completed by the washing of feet. What the denominations do is only an idea of wanting to go beyond, because they do not celebrate the supper annually, nor do they use the necessary elements, some practice it monthly and others quarterly, with the allegation that the supper forces them to sanctify themselves, this lie is evident, judging by the way they present themselves. In truth, they see in the supper an opportunity for a feast to be able to ask for more offerings, more money, this is the practice of many, because they know that on this day the congregation tends to be full. In their supper they use cookies, sweet bread, maria cracker, bakery bread to represent the body of Jesus Christ, and “wine” with the addition of alcohol, or even grape juice. Many other abominations are part of their celebrations. In summary, there is no respect whatsoever for what should symbolize the body and blood of Jesus Christ, nor for the ceremonial act itself, because in some they even use dances in the package of heresies.
Briefly speaking, the Restoration of the Church consists in the obedience of all apostolic doctrines, without wanting to arrange subterfuges, ways or alternative paths, or pretexts to walk in contradiction to the teachings that demand holiness and guarantee salvation.
Acknowledgment:
I thank you for getting this far, may Our Lord Jesus speak greatly to your heart, and you also may be an instrument for proclaiming the Genuine Gospel, causing many souls to be reached for salvation.
References:
Bible
https://www.luteranos.com.br/lutero/95_teses.html
https://ensinarhistoriajoelza.com.br/10-fatos-sobre-martinho-lutero
https://www.vitoriaemcristo.org/noticia/346/a-reforma-protestante-e-os-beneficios-para-a-sociedade