Why I Believe Modern Protestantism is a Failure
The Reformation is indeed a very important event. I may not consider myself a Protestant but I don't believe my denomination of Baptist traces back to John the Baptist. I can't be too sure but it seems early pre-Reformation Christians during the Dark Ages got labeled as Baptists because they insisted on baptism by immersion. John the Baptist was called Baptist because of he was a baptizer - not a member of a denomination. But I would still consider the Protestant Reformation to be an important event in Church history. The Reformation gave us several useful materials such as the Geneva Study Bible which would later birth the Puritan-translated Calvinist King James Bible.
What's my problem with contemporary Protestantism? Did they forget the reason why the movement happened? It would be easy to see how the movement itself has been corrupted. I've seen the following corruptions happen such as giving in to same-sex marriages (and fake pastors are now even officiating them) and ecumenism with the Vatican who many Christian theologians consider as the Mother of Harlots. I've seen Lutherans now adopt Roman Catholic idolatry, Matthew Vines is apparently a Presbyterian homosexual pastor, and some known Protestant leaders are in cahoots with the Vatican. I'm going to say that some Baptist churches have joined contemporary Protestantism in the great apostasy. As 1 John 2:19 describes them - they are all but Judas Iscariot churches!
Why do I think contemporary Protestantism is a failure? I remembered watching the excellent videos by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron called "True and False Conversion" as well as "Hell's Best Kept Secret". I remembered how both Comfort and Cameron discussed the problems of modern-day evangelism. How often do you hear repentance or at least telling people at they are sinners in need of a Savior? Sometimes, there's hardly any sermon to at least bring the person to the realization that they are sinners. In the book "Hard to Believe" - John MacArthur also further explains how repentance of sin has been downplayed in exchange for a Madison Avenue Jesus.
Both MacArthur and Comfort had made several points known. In the book "The Gospel According to Jesus" - there are many highlights of wishy-washy evangelism. I remembered how Cameron's foreword in both "Hell's Best Kept Secret" and "True and False Conversion" talk about how dirty evangelism talks about health and wealth than man's sickness and in need of salvation. The portrayal of the flight and the safety jacket make a lot of sense. You can see how one passenger is told about his flight getting "improved" by it in contrast to the other who's told that he needs it in the case of an emergency. Something goes wrong and the first passenger removes the jacket. The other one holds dear to it knowing he needs it. That's the difference between wishy-washy evangelism.
It's really shocking how modern Protestantism has gotten rid of repentance of sin from their messages. It has allowed a weak foundation. Many people today still have the thorns, the shallow soil, and the hard soil problem going on. They are still not repentant and are too focused on the worldly. How often do we have sinner's prayer evangelism with a watered-down message? It's no wonder Leonard Ravenhill has warned that the sinner's prayer has become more dangerous than the bars in America. It's because the sinner's prayer evangelism lacks focus on the Gospel. I remembered how Paul Washer blasted it yet he spoke that some people got saved not because of it but in spite of it. Why does some sinner's prayer evangelism work? It's because the pastor wasn't preaching a watered-down message but taught a full message. That's why some people got saved in spite of the sinner's prayer evangelism just like how D. James Kennedy does it.
It's really shocking how modern Protestantism has gotten rid of repentance of sin from their messages. It has allowed a weak foundation. Many people today still have the thorns, the shallow soil, and the hard soil problem going on. They are still not repentant and are too focused on the worldly. How often do we have sinner's prayer evangelism with a watered-down message? It's no wonder Leonard Ravenhill has warned that the sinner's prayer has become more dangerous than the bars in America. It's because the sinner's prayer evangelism lacks focus on the Gospel. I remembered how Paul Washer blasted it yet he spoke that some people got saved not because of it but in spite of it. Why does some sinner's prayer evangelism work? It's because the pastor wasn't preaching a watered-down message but taught a full message. That's why some people got saved in spite of the sinner's prayer evangelism just like how D. James Kennedy does it.
The other weak foundation is the prosperity gospel. I remembered how I used to watch the Trinity Broadcasting Network until I saw obvious red flags for the Christian to avoid. Some of these red flags involve ecumenism with Rome and the charismatic chaos. While some programs indeed contain useful content yet 90% or even higher contain more garbage. I even dropped Hour of Truth by Apollo C. Quiboloy after I kept hearing nothing more than prosperity garbage. If receiving Christ was meant making my life easy and healthy then why am I not in it? I never came to Christ for that reason. I came for forgiveness because I'm a sinner. But people have supposedly "come to Jesus" wishing for a prosperous life like Judas Iscariot did.
The weak foundation of watered-down preaching is a good foundation for infiltration. I wonder was Arminianism really the start of the collapse of Protestantism? Having a watered-down repentance results in several false converts. It would be easy for the Jesuits to send their best agents to slowly but surely incorporate their doctrine. It's no wonder why some Protestants are converting to either Roman Catholicism or other religions. I ran across a Protestant who later joined the Mormons. Another one joined the cult of Eli Soriano. These people had a weak foundation. How can anybody who has accepted Jesus later buy the belief that you need plus works to get saved? It doesn't make sense. I used to think such people lost their salvation until I re-examined that 1 John 2:19 had to say. If they were truly saved then they would have stayed. But these people were not truly saved. Worse, some of these churches who are teaching watered-down repentance are King James Only. If they were serious about the King James Version of the Bible - they should realize that the Calvinistic Puritans were serious men and women of God!
Worse, modern Protestantism has taught that the whole event called the Reformation was just a misunderstanding. That has to be one of the most ridiculous thoughts I've heard. Before the Reformation, some Baptists before the Reformation were getting tortured for preaching the Word of God and rebaptizing some converted former Roman Catholics. Some Baptists got beheaded and their heads were placed on spikes. Another Christian hero named Girolamo Savonarola was burned alive for exposing the heresies of Alexander VI. Jan Hus was burned alive for preaching the Bible. The Inquisition came before the Reformation tortured Christians. The Reformation by Martin Luther exposed all the Vatican's abuses. Luther's movement was a call to reformation after he studied the Latin Vulgate. The whole event was meant to open the eyes of the Bible such as using the printing press (which was invented by a Roman Catholic) to print Bibles for all to read. The Bible was long banned by the Vatican yet Roman Catholics today are lied into believing she gave them the Bible. How can all those wicked incidents just be a mere misunderstanding? It's not just a simple misunderstanding but a serious spiritual battle for the truth!
Worse, modern Protestantism has taught that the whole event called the Reformation was just a misunderstanding. That has to be one of the most ridiculous thoughts I've heard. Before the Reformation, some Baptists before the Reformation were getting tortured for preaching the Word of God and rebaptizing some converted former Roman Catholics. Some Baptists got beheaded and their heads were placed on spikes. Another Christian hero named Girolamo Savonarola was burned alive for exposing the heresies of Alexander VI. Jan Hus was burned alive for preaching the Bible. The Inquisition came before the Reformation tortured Christians. The Reformation by Martin Luther exposed all the Vatican's abuses. Luther's movement was a call to reformation after he studied the Latin Vulgate. The whole event was meant to open the eyes of the Bible such as using the printing press (which was invented by a Roman Catholic) to print Bibles for all to read. The Bible was long banned by the Vatican yet Roman Catholics today are lied into believing she gave them the Bible. How can all those wicked incidents just be a mere misunderstanding? It's not just a simple misunderstanding but a serious spiritual battle for the truth!
What can be done about the contemporary state of Protestantism? As a Baptist, I'm still willing to say that Protestants who are still serious with the Word of God may consider moving either to Baptist churches or other Protestant churches that are still serious with it. Christians of different denominations who are still serious can band together regardless. Contemporary Protestantism should be rejected completely along with the Easy Baptist movement. In short, reject every so-called Christian assembly that's teaching watered-down repentance and giving in to compromise. It's because their pastors are Judas Iscariot pastors. They are pastors who should be rejected as imposters and not as true men of God.
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