All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:3
By Paul J. Wickliffe
March, 26, 2024
For Luther, his belief that Rome could somehow be reformed, was evidence enough that there were problems in his capacity to discern between Christ and the wisdom of men. Luther’s belief in baptismal regeneration (or the notion that man’s water baptism could replace the precious blood of the Savior in redemption), was just another proof that denominationalism would now assail the gospel of Christ, while man’s religion would replace the faith of the Holy Spirit. Under the guise of another gospel, Lutheranism, as well as the rise of all denominations, signaled the birth of a new movement known as the Protestant Reformation.
Rome not only created the appearance of the classic Hegelian dialectic of thesis—antithesis—synthesis, Rome initiated this struggle between spiritual despotism and denominationalism. By planting the seeds of dead works and lifeless, slavish devotion to the commandments and doctrines of men, Rome re-positioned itself as the standard bearer of Christ, while subtly holding the conscience of men captive. Rome accomplished this by transubstantiating (changing) the blood of Christ into an inebriate substance, the Holy Spirit exchanged for the “free-will” of man, and the authority of scripture subjugated to the papal bulls and decrees of a sovereign pontiff.
While the Reformation is seen by secular history and historians as the beginning of a spiritual revolution of all that was wrong with Rome, its movers and shakers, the Protestants, could not completely divorce themselves from certain fundamental truths Rome had conditioned its disciples to believe. These rudimentary beliefs were contrary to the very teachings of Christ as taught in the New Testament.
The New Testament reveals Christ died for sinners. The scriptures also teach the Holy Spirit, through his baptism (crucifixion of self), is the one that accomplishes spiritual redemption. The scriptures also teach the Holy Spirit to be our teacher. Finally, the issue of spiritual authority would forever be settled. Man’s authority would be replaced by scriptural authority.
These doctrines of Christ’s atonement for sinners, baptism by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit’s anointing, along with the doctrines of biblical inspiration, transmission, and preservation, posed a direct threat to Rome and the Reformation it produced.
Rome and its Reformation gave us denominationalism. Denominationalism, by its very nature, is personality driven(the cult of personality), not Christ directed. What appeared to be a Reformation Movement was nothing more than a smokescreen for appeasement, compromise and clandestine ecumenical dialogue.
There was no genuine, biblical thesis-antithesis polemic (impassioned opposition) evident in Rome’s detractors, only an apparent, beguiling front. This front, when stripped away of its counterfeit objectives, revealed Rome’s sinister strategy—present the world with another, alternate work’s-based system of salvation. This time it would not be suspected. It would be called Protestantism.
Its teachers would be legion. Its redemptive paradigm substituted self, that is Arminianism’s “prevenient grace,” in place of the Holy Spirit’s baptism, or the crucifixion and death of self. Its non-dispensationalist teaching claimed the apostolic offices, with their authority, were still in effect, therefore the church was still “the pillar and ground of the truth.” (I Tim. 3:15)
Rejecting the “perfect” (I Cor. 13:10) which had come, namely the completed inspired scriptures, is it a surprise denominationalism’s fruit ultimately produced a variety of doctrinal heresy’s, the likes of which, had not been seen since apostolic times?
"Martin Luther hammers his 95 theses to the Wittenberg Church door," by Ferdinand Pauwels
Pope Leo XII's medal
“Sedet super universum,” meaning “the whole world is her seat.” --Alexander Hislop, “The Two Babylons”
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Dialecticism: Man's Rebellion Against His God-given Moral Conscience
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