The Biggest Error of the Protestant Reformers

By Jim Jester

Sometimes I get into conversation with well-meaning people concerned about the dreadful condition of the church and our country. I may say things like, “God is a God of judgment” or, “Jesus did not die for everybody” or, “God hates certain things, or even certain people.” Some will come back with a Bible verse taken out of context and say, “Don’t be so negative” or, “You are so divisive” or, “We are not to judge.” This was the case recently with a Sunday school teacher; so, I wrote back:

Electricity does not flow unless there is a negative and a positive. We need both; so I will be positive now. As a young Christian I was Arminian in my theological persuasion, I rejected all five points of Calvin (T.U.L.I.P.). But as time went on I became more of a Calvinist than an Arminian because God is sovereign – He chooses, not us. We only choose to serve Him. We cannot have it both ways, as I once believed, that God was for me and I chose to accept Jesus; therefore His vote and my vote made a majority.

I had always wanted unity in the church, but this conflict in doctrine has been struggled over by greater minds than mine. Men like Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and Arminius were not able to unite the Christian world. Since Luther posted his Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Church, the debate has continued for centuries. I knew that according to Genesis 3:15 there would always be conflict in the world, but why not have unity and peace in the church?

The church is the source of truth because of the Bible. If the Bible has the truth, then why has the church not been able to reconcile their differences and further advance the kingdom of Christ? Could it be that they do not know their Bibles? I now realize that there is a third option, other than Calvin’s five assertions or Arminius’ five answers to Calvin. Finally, after some five centuries, the church can unite! It can happen by discovering the Covenant God made with His people.

The biggest error of the Reformers was that they had no Covenant in their theology. They all came from their former church of Rome – the Catholic Church. The word “catholic” means universal. The Bible has never taught universalism; just look at what happened at the Tower of Babel. We can only unite under God. The Catholic Church has no covenant and neither do the protestant churches today. The Reformers missed the key element of the Bible because of their lifetime in the pagan Roman church. Protestantism, as good as it was, is still catholic (universal).

When the Pilgrims arrived in America, there were only a few Christian denominations; now there are thousands of them. Why? Because there is no anchor (the Covenant/the Law) to hold them together. Only by rediscovering the Covenant can we unite as the true church of Christ. The move would be drastic and many would not like the message. It would cause the biggest rift since the Reformation, but when the dust settles it would be best for humankind, mankind, and Christians everywhere. Let it come, and the result will be the kingdom of God “on earth as it is in heaven” just as our Lord has taught us to pray.

The thread of universalism runs deep in every religion of the world: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Freemasonry, Satanism, etc. The St. Paul of Buddhism, a king known by more people than Jesus, King Asoka the Great, 304-232 B.C. said, “One shall not condemn another religion or race by word or deed.” This is the core belief of all religions and the philosophy of everyone today. While it became widespread since this king, its origin lies with Satan and ancient Babylon. This philosophy that “all religions and races are the same” is not true. Only the Bible stands against this popular dogma. Our God is exclusively different from all others, and He expects us to be exclusive, not inclusive.

A third option for Protestant theology? Certainly! Calvin believed the Elect of God were those who were to be saved out of all races. There was no way to know who these people were. God just randomly chose them, without any good reason, out of His good pleasure and divine will. Arminius, in an attempt to make God appear more reasonable, less cruel and arbitrary, decided that the Elect were those who had already been saved out of all races, but there was no way to identify them other than they brought forth the fruits of a sanctified life. There is truth in both of these views, however, both were wrong because both were universal – they had no Covenant. If Calvin had only seen that the Covenant was the reason for God’s Election, then God would not have appeared so illogical in erratically selecting individuals as objects of His grace. And, Arminius would have had to agree with him. In other words, God’s basis for everything He does is because of His Covenant.

The Protestants did not go far enough. The covenantal option is the third alternative in theology. Christendom can now stop squabbling over the issues and problems found in Calvinism and Arminianism. Protestantism can now unite under Covenant Theology. The Elect is Israel, as Isaiah plainly says, “For Jacob my servant’s sake and Israel mine elect…” (Isa. 45:4). Christian Identity knows who Israel is even though they do not always live up to the standards of God’s Law, and has not over many centuries. However, God is still working with them today and always will.

The New Covenant is actually an extension of the Old Covenant made with the same people! It is a renewal of the everlasting Covenant in Christ’s blood. It was exclusively made for the people of God, no one else. Why? Because they had broken the Law (their Covenant) and God divorced them. “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also” (Jer. 3:8).

The prophet Ezekiel speaks of lost Israel, “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts” (Ez. 37:11). And the apostle Paul, “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12).

No hope and without God? Why? Because they were divorced and scattered into other countries. In the words of the prophet Hosea, “Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God” (Hosea 1:9). What a tragic condition to be in – no longer God’s people? Hosea continues, “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God” (Hosea 1:10). Amazing grace – this is fulfilled in the New Covenant. The divorced people are now married again.

Because of the conditioning of the judeo church, most Christians, when they read that the “elect” is Israel, thinks this is talking about a country in the Middle East, which is the “Jews.” There are many reasons why this is not true. The word “jew” is not synonymous with “Israel.” Today’s jews are a whole different people than the ancient Israelites of the Bible. One should erase the word “jew” from their mind when reading the Bible for it has multiple meanings and is an improper translation of the biblical text. The original word should be translated “Judean” which is a person from Judea. Or, it can sometimes be translated “Judahite” if a person is descended from Judah. Point is the Bible is not talking about Israel as a country; it is clearly talking about Israel being Jacob and his descendants.

One must remember that the basis of Christianity is Abraham, Moses, the prophets and the Law (Covenant). The word “jew” does not appear in the Pentateuch – Abram was not a “jew”, neither was Moses. The Law was not given to “jews” – it was given to Israel. Jews did not exist at the time, but their forefathers the Amalekites did. According to the biblical genealogical records, Amalek was the grandson of Esau. The Amalekites were the first to attack Israel after they left Egypt. The word “jews” does not appear in the Bible until the Second book of Kings! This amazing fact alone should raise a red flag for Bible students. Something is very wrong about what we are being taught in our Bible schools and seminaries.

Back to our third option in theology and why the debate should be over. The truth of the Covenant made by God with his chosen family, nation, race (these terms are synonymous in the Bible although not always used this way today) will sound very offensive to the modern world and judeo-Christians; having been programmed as if in a cult. This truth was offensive to me too, but after thinking about it, who was I to question God? Did not God create genetics? And, if God chose to work out salvation in a particular race, why should I say it is not fair? After all, we know that not all nations (races, peoples) will be saved in the end.

Arminius was so arrogant as to say we choose; Calvin said God already chose, but did not know on what basis. This made God appear as a tyrant, saving some while condemning others based on nothing. However, with a Covenant there is a perfectly justified reason for God’s actions.

Christian Identity and the biblical doctrine of the Covenant may cause us to lose friends or have the government label us as “racists”, but should we care? No, we serve the almighty God of Israel, not the gods of universal salvation for all. “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth” (Deuteronomy 14:2). This is just one of many verses that proves God is a racist. If God is, then we should be too.

Yes, I think we should be positive; we should be positively in line with what the Bible teaches. There can only be unity in a Biblical context. If this means the exclusion of other doctrines, races, and other sacred cows of our age, then that is what it will take to establish the Kingdom of God. So, modern Christian, you do not think that the church can unite, and under the Covenant establish God’s Kingdom on Earth?  Stop being so negative.