Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin
Since I am leaning towards to the reformed faith, it is expected I will be receiving feedbacks from LCers to point that the reformation is nothing less but a Christless sector of Christianity. How do you respond to such a mindset belief? Are they saying that Calvinists and Protestants only have the appearance of being alive but are actually dead on the inside? I don't think John Piper and Paul Washer are dead men. I am actually not sure exactly which of these characteristics it might apply to the Protestant Reformation or to Calvinism.
Are we to attribute a "spirit" to the seven churches of Revelation or necessarily compare a church today to one of the seven churches of Revelation? The seven churches described in Revelation 2-3 are seven literal churches at the time that John the apostle was writing the book of Revelation. Though they were literal churches in that time, there is also spiritual significance for churches and believers today. The LCM use the seven churches to foreshadow seven different periods in the history of the Church. The problem with this view is that each of the seven churches describes issues that could fit the Church in any time in its history. So, although there may be some truth to the seven churches representing seven eras, there is far too much speculation in this regard. I can't articulate to defend my position as a Reformed Baptist.
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The Reformation was not Christless. The Reformation is seen as the start of the Recovery. What became Christless was the church organizations that resulted from the Reformation and satisfy Rev 3:20a. These church organizations became affiliated with the governments of the time. Today, many of these state-churches support gay marriage and such. Christless fits them well. Even though God led them out of the Roman Catholic church, they became dead themselves. For this reason God used the inner life mystics such as Madame Guyon and Brother Lawrence, Catholics, to show the Protestants the way.
This is a local church definition of Christless:
Rev 3:20a "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”
It is referring to the church organization not the individuals within that church.
As believers, Piper and Washer would be alive in Christ.