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?