The Protestant Confession: The Church Lost The Teaching

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The Protestant Reformers realized that if the Scriptures do not have one true meaning, their true meaning must be no meaning at all, as liberal theologians have illogically chosen to believe. [See “The Demons Also Believe (Poor Devils!)” The Voice of Elijah^®, October 1991.]

The mistake the Protestant Reformers made was an error of faulty logic. They assumed the biblical doctrine concerning the authority of Scripture meant they could recover the one true meaning of the Scriptures on their own. They failed to understand that the Church obtained the one true meaning of the Scriptures by means of revelation from Jesus Christ. That happened when He revealed the Gospel that lies hidden in the Hebrew Scriptures to His Apostles shortly after His Resurrection. (See “Jesus Talks About the Mystery,” The Voice of Elijah^®, January 1991.)

During their lifetime, Paul and the other Apostles taught the Early Church what Jesus Christ had revealed to them. (See “Where Are Jesus’ Disciples?” The Voice of Elijah^®, April 1991.) But after the Apostles died, the Early Church lost The Teaching. (See The Mystery of Scripture, Volume 1.) They did so because Pretenders came into the Church and created confusion by teaching false doctrine. That made it impossible for Church leaders who followed the Apostles to pass The Teaching along to the next generation.

In the ensuing controversy, nobody could be certain as to what was true and what was false. Before long, what had been The Teaching of the Church was reduced to best guess and consensus of opinion. Subjective opinion had replaced The Teaching. By the time of the Reformation (A.D. 1517), the leaders of the Church had lost even the most basic doctrine of the Gospel—salvation by faith alone.

The Protestant Reformers clearly understood the leaders of the Church had lost the Truth somewhere along the way. Their appeal to the Church Fathers is mute testimony to that fact. That is also why they protested against the subjective decrees of the Pope.

However, the Protestants did not just seek to restore the biblical doctrine of salvation by faith alone, they found other Truths they believed had been lost as well. The Reformers forcefully defended as true three essential concepts they knew the Church, in earlier times, had held dear: (1) salvation by faith alone, (2) the priesthood of the Believer, and (3) the authority of the Scriptures. (See “The Authority of Scripture,” The Voice of Elijah^®, January 1991.)

“The Protestant Confession: The Church Lost The Teaching,” The Voice of Elijah^®, January 1992, p. 6

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