Where The Gospel Went

[Frank]

Christ showed the real Scriptural Gospel
so that people could have eternal life and
to enable the Protestant Reformation:
that salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone
to be our imputed righteousness for salvation.
The Reformers in the Protestant Reformation
faithfully declared that message, but they
retained from the Catholics infant baptism
with some modifications of their own,
and the glorification of the sacraments.
Because infants cannot understand
the Gospel, and because many people
trust in infant baptism for salvation,
infant baptism clouded up the Gospel
by diverting trust away from Christ.
The Anabaptists were right
in teaching that baptism is
for those who believe the Gospel,
but they were not right in trusting
in repentance for salvation (though
professing to believe in faith alone).
The Reformers were concerned
that the Anabaptists were departing
from salvation being by faith alone
by their emphasis on repentance
and on being disciples; and
the Reformers were right about that.

Today the thousands of denominations
have the false "gospel" of "salvation"
by repentance (though many profess
to believe salvation is by faith alone);
and the few denominations that once
knew the real Gospel so clouded it up
by infant baptism and otherwise
glorifying the sacraments, that people
trust in their own "righteousness"
anyway rather than in Christ alone
to be their entire righteousness for salvation.
The real Scriptural Gospel that Christ showed
for the Reformation is hardly known today:

The moment Christ gives us faith to stop trusting our
"righteousness" and start trusting him to be our Righteous
Substitute so he regards his righteousness and victory ours,
we have eternal life.
(Romans 4, Ephesians 2, Philippians 3, Colossians 1,
John 6, 1 Peter 1, Preface to Luther Latin Works)

--
http://roines.home.mindspring.com

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