Are Protestant distinctives found in the early church

Protestant Distinctives in the Book of Acts and the New Testament Church

A lot of times critics of Protestantism will say that Protestant theology was never taught in the early church. They're usually appealing to the church fathers when they do this. What I like to do is go back to the earliest church, the Book of Acts.

And what we find in the Book of Acts are definitely the Protestant distinctives that are there. Now, Christians were first referred to as such in the Book of Acts. And that's the earliest time of the church.

That's when the church began. And so when Roman Catholics, when Eastern Orthodox, when they go into history, they try and find the truths that they say the unanimous consensus of the church fathers hold to.

And they'll say, see, the Protestant distinctives weren't there. Well, I find it interesting that what they do is they appeal to church history. And I don't trust the church fathers as much as I trust the scriptures.

The church fathers often contradicted themselves and each other. And so how are we going to know what they're teaching, what they did teach? That is, how are we going to know what they taught was right?

Well, you have to go to the Word of God to do that. So nevertheless, the earliest church was the Christian church. And it's described and mentioned in the Book of Acts. And, of course, talked about a great deal in the epistles as well.

So why don't we just do that? Go back to the original church. And that's found in the New Testament. And let's find those things that are Protestant distinctives that are there. So I have eight that I'm going to go through here.

And I'll read all of them really quickly and then expand on them a little bit. There's one mediator between man and God, the man, Christ Jesus, not many mediators. We hold to justification by faith alone in Christ alone, not by faith, works, and baptism.

We hold to eternal security, not conditional security, based on our works. That's important. We are allowed to have differences of opinions on debatable issues, but not on the essentials, of course. Scripture is the final authority in all spiritual matters, not just tradition and church councils.

We teach and hold to the priesthood of all believers, not just the Catholic clergy or any clergy of any denominational group. Christ was sacrificed once for all for believers, not repeatedly in the Mass.

That's the Mass of the Catholic Church, of course. And grace is God's unmerited favor and work of God in a person, not something infused through sacraments. All right. So, let me go through these one by one and just kind of expound on them a little bit and see if they really are taught.

One Mediator Between God and Man

Number one, one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. That's 1 Timothy 2 .5, which says specifically,. For there is one God and one mediator also between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus.

Now, in Catholicism, they teach the idea of the mediatorship of Mary, the saints, others. And so, they don't take seriously this one verse. And it shouldn't be that we have to argue about this issue if we believe the Word of God.

Of course, they're going to say, well, people, you ask them to pray for you. That's the same kind of thing we're doing when we ask the saints and Mary to pray for us. You're just asking someone to pray.

Well, that's praying to somebody else, which is idolatrous. And it is denying the sole mediatorship of Christ in that sense. Jesus is God in flesh. And, of course, I would certainly not say that Mary has the ability, as so many Catholics have told me, has the ability to be able to hear millions of prayers simultaneously, spoken and thought in different languages all over the world.

And she can understand these and answer them. It's just basically elevating her to the level of a goddess. Number two, justification by faith alone, not by faith in works or baptism. Now, we hold to justification by faith alone in Christ alone.

Justification by Faith Alone in Christ Alone

And there's lots of verses for this. Romans 3 .28,. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Romans 4 .5 says,. But to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Romans 11 .6,. For if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace. Galatians 2 .16,. Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus.

Even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, since by the works of the law no flesh will be justified. And Galatians 2 .21, I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly.

Now, the thing is that in Roman Catholicism, in paragraph 20 .68 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it says that they obtain salvation through faith, baptism, and the observance of the commandments.

This is a false gospel. They're not teaching justification by faith alone. Now, I've already gone through the verses here, and I looked at Romans 4 .5, which I think is very significant. I can focus on a lot of verses and expound on them, but I'm going to just do this one, because it's very, very important.

But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. Does not work, but believes. What does that mean? Well, it means the ones who don't work, who don't do anything, who just believe.

Their faith is credited as righteousness. This is what the Word of God says, and this is a perfect verse for determining and justifying the idea that we're saved by faith alone and Christ alone. Now, we don't want to say that what they teach, and I'll get into the issue of the sacraments here, what they teach is that grace is an infused quality into us.

It's like a substance that's infused into us, and that the more grace you have in you, the better off you are before God. And you can lose this grace by committing various sins, venial and mortal sins.

But that's not what the Scriptures teach. The Scriptures teach that we're justified by faith alone, and it's in Christ alone, of course. That's what the Scriptures teach. So that's what we hold to as well, that's what the early church held to, because that's what it says right there.

Eternal Security and the Believer's Assurance

Number three, eternal security, not conditional security based on our works. That's the issue. Now, I know that there are a lot of Protestants who don't hold to eternal security, and I would stand in opposition to them, not condemning them, but just saying you need to rethink what you're asserting.

Jesus says in John 6, 37 -40, All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I certainly will not cast out. For I've come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.

This is the will of Him who sent me, that of all that He has given me, I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise Him up on the last day.

This is simple. This is easy stuff. It says that He will lose nothing. Of all that the Father has given Him, He won't lose any. He won't lose any. John 10, 27 -28, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish. And no one will snatch them out of my hand. These are two verses, two sets of scriptures, that demonstrate, at least in my opinion, very clearly, that we don't lose our salvation.

Our salvation is certainly not dependent upon our ability to be good, or maintain ourselves before God by our ability to be faithful, or our ability to keep the law, or whatever it might be that people say that we've got to do in order to keep ourselves right with God.

I just don't agree with that, and the scriptures don't either. So I hold to eternal security. Now, I'll admit it, there are a lot of Christians who don't, and that doesn't mean they're not Christian, but the Protestant distinctive is this, eternal security, not conditional security based upon our works.

We're secure in Christ's work, not our own. And that's very, very important. Number four. We are allowed to have differences of opinions on debatable issues, but not the essentials. Now, if you want to know what the essentials are, you can look on the screen here, and I have a link that deals with the, an article that deals with the essentials of the Christian faith.

Christian Liberty on Debatable Issues

Now, just my opinion, this is what the scripture says are essentials, and you can go through that on your own. But this is what the Bible says about non-essentials. And it talks about this in Romans 14, 1 through 5.

Now, except the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to regard the one who eats, not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.

Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls, and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. This is a significant verse. Verse 5. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike.

Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. This means we have the approval in God's Word to have differences of opinions on the debatable issues. Not on the essentials, of course. That's what it says there.

Talked about verse 1 on people's opinions. Well, in Catholicism, for example, what you have to do is submit to what the Roman Catholic Church tells you the word means. Tells you whatever it means. And that's a problem.

If that's the case, then why would Paul say each person must be fully convinced in his own mind? Why didn't he say you got to submit to Peter? Submit to the magisterium? Submit to the church fathers? Submit to whatever it is that the church tells you?

That's not what he said. So it's definitely a Protestant distinctive to be allowed to have differences of opinions on debatable issues. Of course, not the essentials. And that is something that we hold to.

And unfortunately, denominations occur because of these kinds of differences. But denominations occur in the issues of when the rapture is or the mode of baptism or charismatic gifts or not. And things like that.

But not on the essentials like the Trinity, the deity of Christ, His resurrection, etc. All right. Number five. Scripture is the final authority in all spiritual matters. Not tradition and not church councils.

Scripture as the Final Authority

Now, the verses for this that I like to go to are two sets here. Acts 17 .11. Now, these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica. For they received the word with great eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

Now, why is this important? Well, it's important because Paul and Silas were teaching. And what the Bereans did, they checked the apostle Paul. They checked what he said against the word of God. And they were noble-minded for doing that.

That, of course, was the Old Testament scriptures and maybe some of the New Testament stuff that they knew what they had already. But the point is that they didn't submit to some hierarchical structure and authority.

They were allowed to and capable of simply looking at the word of God and understanding what it says. You don't need authority to interpret the word of God. You just need to be able to read, read its context, understand it, and say, well, you know, you're off base.

It's not that difficult to do. But the Roman Catholic Church and others said that you have to submit to their authority. And, of course, 2 Timothy 3 .15 and 16. And that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

Now, notice he says the sacred writings. That's the Old Testament scriptures. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. So the scriptures are what is said.

The inspired word is what is said to be profitable for teaching, reproof, and correction. That's exactly what I'm doing here. I'm using the word of God to correct varying issues, varying problems that arise in various churches.

It's not me, my great authority and all of that. No. What does the word of God say? Just read the word of God. It's not that hard to do. Number six. We hold to the priesthood of all believers, not just the Catholic clergy or some clergy set in some denominational church group that says, well, we have the authority.

The Priesthood of All Believers

We trace ourselves back to the early church and the authority and all that. 1 Peter 2 .5. You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Look, if you're a Christian, you are being built up as a holy priesthood, according to this verse. As living stones, being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood. We have this in ourselves.

We don't need a special clergy class to be able to give us sacraments, to be able to give us what we need. We have it in Jesus Christ. We have it in the word of God. We are that priesthood, that holy priesthood by the work of Jesus Christ.

We have that authority and that right to make pronouncements of judgments, be able to say what is right and wrong by looking at the word of God. We don't have to submit ourselves to some hierarchical church structure to do that.

Number seven. Christ was sacrificed only once for believers, not repeatedly in the mass. Now, in Catholicism, the mass occurs regularly, and it's a re-presentation, a re-sacrifice of Christ that is propitiatory.

Christ Offered Once for All, Not Repeatedly in the Mass

Let me read some scriptures here. In Hebrews 9 .28, it says,. So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin to those who eagerly await him.

And also 1 Peter 3 .18,. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God. Having been put to death in the flesh, he but made alive in the spirit. You see, though the Roman Catholic Church, and you'll look on the screen here, you're going to see various things that I'm posting that are from the official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, from the catechism.

And you'll see that they teach it's a re-presentation, that it is equal to the real sacrifice, and that it is a propitiatory sacrifice, which means it is sufficient to cleanse from sin. So they hold to the idea that the sacraments through the mass, well the mass is one of the sacraments the mass is, and that by participating in it, you get grace infused into you, and then you're made a better Christian.

And that this mass is a re-sacrifice, a re-presentation of Christ's work on the cross. But no, the Bible says he was offered once for all, not many times over and over in the mass, which is, in my opinion, blasphemous.

And finally, number eight, grace is God's unmerited favor and work of God in a person, not something infused through sacraments. Now I've already mentioned this idea about infusion, so I'll go through that a little bit more in a bit.

Grace as God's Unmerited Favor, Not Sacramental Infusion

But I've got some verses that I'm going to go through here about the issue of God's grace. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him.

And when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace. It's not a substance given them. It doesn't say anything about a substance infused. Romans 3 .24, being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6 .14, for sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. Romans 11 .6, but if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace.

Now on the screen here, you're going to see the quote from the catechism, which talks about the infusion of grace into the soul. Now in Catholic soteriology, the doctrine of salvation, what they're teaching is that grace is merited by the work of Christ and the work of the saints.

And that the Catholic Church has the keys to the kingdom of heaven and that treasury of grace. And the grace is administered to the Catholic through the sacraments. You participate in sacraments and you get more grace.

The problem is that that's unbiblical. Grace is not something that is infused into us to make us more righteous. And then if you sin in venial sin, you lose a little bit of that grace. And if you sin in mortal sin, you lose all of that grace.

And you have to go back to the priest, the authority of the Catholic Church, to get that grace restored to you. So the Catholic Church is in charge of your salvation. The Catholic Church is the one that would merit out that grace by its authority, by its sacramental procedures, by which then you can then regain that salvation status or regain the sufficiency of the grace infused, re-infused, more infused into you so that you can be made more right and be with God.

This is blasphemy. It's blasphemy. Grace is not a substance that is infused into our souls. It is the reality of God's kindness to us manifested through the blood of Christ on that cross. His resurrection is the proof that what Jesus said and did is right and true.

You need to trust in what Jesus said, not in what the Roman Catholic Church says. You need to trust in what Christ says about himself. He says to come to him and he'll give you rest, Matthew 11, 28. Trust in Jesus.

Don't trust the Catholic Church and its authority or its sacred tradition or its oral tradition or its clergy presentation of sacraments by which you then are re-infused with grace. Nevertheless, are the Protestant distinctives found in the early church and the earliest of church?

Absolutely. Though Protestantism as a word, Protestant, wasn't used. The ideas of the Protestant Reformation are certainly present within this clear teaching of God's word. The Protestants were protesting against the atrocities and false teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

They protested, hence Protestants. We believe in the truth of God's word and submit ourselves to that word and so should you. God bless.