Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
Back to the first post. How can Protestantism be 'christless' if "Everything is Christ"? This requires a different reading. And under this new reading, if Protestantism is christless then the Lord's Recovery of Lee is perhaps doubly so. With what measure you measure, you are measured.
|
Ok getting back on track. In defense of Lee's view of Christless Protestantism, let us consider the intended meaning of the term Christless as used by Lee:
Christless refers to the places or gatherings that name Christ but are merely social clubs or ritualistic performances. Where the sermons are mostly on ethical, political or social issues, rather than welcoming Christ's presence and authority.
Christless means churches where Christ is "outside the door" knocking:
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone should hear My voice and open the door, then I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
Typically this verse is misapplied to mean Christ knocking on the door of one's heart, for salvation. But the context is clearly Laodicea. The term "Christless" can be applied to the church of Laodicea where Christ is outside knocking.
The other meaning of Christless is in reference to Christ having no authority in the Protestant churches:
In the Book "God Tells the Man Who Cares" by A. W. Tozer it says:
My grief is simply the result of a condition which I believe to be almost universally prevalent among the churches…. Let me state the cause of my burden. It is this: Jesus Christ has today almost no authority at all among the groups that call themselves by His name. …I do mean Protestant churches generally, and I include those that protest the loudest that they are in spiritual descent from our Lord and His apostles, namely, the evangelicals….
Lee is more or less stating the same thing that Tozer stated, that being a general observation regarding the state of the Protestant churches as
not having Christ's authority, and therefore, Christless.
Did Lee ever say that Protestants were going to hell or not Christians? Of course not, never did. Christless is in reference to the church gatherings not individual spirituality. If anyone thinks that just because some Christians get together to do whatever they like, then "Christ is in their midst" then think again. Scripture never says that. Rev 3:20 proves it is possible for a gathering of two or three (a church, by most people's definition) to not have Christ in their midst. It is possible for a church to not have Christ, and therefore be Christless. Is Christ really "in the midst" of the Reformed churches that ally themselves with the Catholic church and homosexuals? Does a church have Christ if it holds to the 1689 Confession of Faith or some other Creed ? Did Christ say in Rev 3 that a Creed or Confession is the answer to their problems?
On this point there is no where in the bible where Christ condemns or praises any particular church for having a particular Confession of Faith, Creed, or similar. Unlike many Protestants/Reformers who consider it a noble thing to hold to a particular Confession or Creed, the bible does not seem to place much importance on it.