I guess even some Protestants are ignorant of the many different Protestant beliefs. I am a former member of the Church of Christ. Notice the language Iāve just used. We rejected the worldly creation of ādenominationsā because those are man made. We believed we were members of the Lordās church that he established. Catholics were among the earliest apostates. The Church of Christ teaches that works are part of our salvation - drawn from āfaith without works is deadā. If we fail to do works we would lose our salvation. Therefore we also had the idea that one can be saved and then fall away from God - clearly scriptural. Further, we believe that the bible clearly sets aside the Lordās day on the first day of the week since the bible clearly states that they met on the first day of the week, breaking bread. Because of this we know that the Lordās Supper is celebrated EVERY Sunday, no exceptions. Itās eery now to see the similarity of our Church of Christ worship service in comparison to the real Church of Christ worship service, also know as the Catholic Church mass or divine liturgy. And another subject that truly bothers me is divorce. The only occasion one can divorce is rare without the possibility of losing oneās soul. Violence, infedelity are among them. But even more strict is the rules for remarriage. A man may get remarriage only if his first wife has died or committed irreconcilable adultry. Even then reconciliation is first encouraged. The spouse that cheated is doomed to live single the rest of their life, lest they lose their soul.
Now I stated these things to show you the major differences between what you describe as āProtestantā and what I describe as Protestant. Protestant is not a religion, it is an action of protesting against the Church by those that hold onto the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord and died for our sins so that we might live. The rest is where it gets blurred.
The sola fide argument does not defend your Baptist belief and that is why I never adopted my families particular Protestant faith, Southern Baptist. When I met my wife I thought I had found the one true Church Christ had founded and that I was the luckiest man alive. It wasnāt until after many years figuring things out that I realized that there were much deeper problems at stake because Iāve seen so many divisions within Protestant Churches.
All sins are forgiven. itās just, as an example, you can have a 99% sale and unless you spend you money you will not profit from the sale. Thatās why we believe in Baptism as necessary for salvation. I held that view all my life and when I hear other Protestants reject it I have to ask how could they even claim to know the bible then? It doesnāt fit the model set out by the bible. Scripture teaches that for example there are sins that are not deadly sins but need purification. But in order to be covered by the blood of the lamb we must participate in Christās death through our baptism and ongoing conversion.
If we fall into sin, away from God, and this too is scriptural and part of my previous faith, we must go to God and repent of our sins. But no where does the bible tell us to go only directly to Him. That is why scripture contains the example of the disciples of Christ sent out with only the cloak on their backs and to heal and forgive sins. Scripture also tells very clearly when he gave the disciples the authority to bind and loose sins.
If you are truly a bible Christian, then you should be able to recall these scriptures Iāve mentioned and have some explanation of why it doesnāt apply. I can, but now after studying history I realize the error of those previous beliefs of mine. I still heavily rely upon scripture for my faith, but I now understand the sacred scripture and the historical fact that Catholicism is the original Christian faith. I nearly fall out of my chair now when others try to disprove this with their shallow knowledge. Even though I used to try to address each issue one at a time, the recipient never cares until they are ready to accept truth in their own time. So, now Iāve stopped proselytizing and when I became Catholic realized just how foolish I had been in attempting to proselytize from my own beliefs rather than Godās belief or rather truth.
