# The following piece I wrote today defending the true faith and true Gospel message.



## dudley (Nov 1, 2014)

I think the following quote is worth thinking about :"After all, there is a Protestantism still worth contending for, there is a Calvinism still worth proclaiming, and a gospel well worth dying for" ~ CH Spurgeon ~

I have not been posting regularly on this site in recent months. I have been involved as an administrator with several others on several different Protestant Reformed sites on facebook. I made the following post on a few of the facebook sites today. I decided I would share it here on the Puritan Board and I will post now some of my posts here again as well. 

May we all be Sons of the Reformation and continue to proclaim what it means to be Reformed Protestant Christians! Being Protestant means we protest heresy and we proclaim the truth of the Gospel. ~ Dudley Davis ~ Those of you who remember me know I am a ex Roman catholic and now a Reformed protestant I am a Presbyterian. I said on facebook today......the following .....

I have said in many previous posts I renounce Roman Catholicism, her pope and the Roman Catholic Church as did the Protestant Reformers. I am now a Protestant, and I can testify to all it is thus Wonderful, Awesome and Great to be a Protestant! I know I am eternally secure by placing my faith alone in Christ alone.

Yesterday October 31st was Reformation Day; the day Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg. When being questioned at the Diet Of Worms, Luther said: “Since then your sere Majesty and your Lordships seek a simple answer, I will give it in this manner, neither horned nor toothed. Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen."
(Reply to the Diet of Worms, April 18, 1521)”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, 33: Career of the Reformer III
As a Former Roman catholic who is now a Reformed protestant, a Presbyterian, I relate very much with Luther and also two other of the most famous Protestant Reformers, John Calvin, and John Knox.
Martin Luther was a German monk, theologian, university professor and church reformer whose ideas inspired the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.
Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the only infallible source of religious authority and that all baptized Christians under Jesus are a spiritual priesthood. According to Luther, salvation was a free gift of God, received only by true repentance and faith in Jesus as the Messiah, a faith given by God and unmediated by the church.
Luther's confrontation with Charles V at the Diet of Worms over freedom of conscience in 1521 and his refusal to submit to the authority of the Emperor resulted in his being declared an outlaw of the state as he had been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Because of the perceived unity of the medieval Church with the secular rulers of western Europe, the widespread acceptance of Luther's doctrines and popular vindication of his thinking on individual liberties were both phenomenal and unprecedented.
His translation of the Bible into the vernacular, making it more accessible to ordinary people, had a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. It furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible. His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism.

I am a Presbyterian today and as I have said I am also an ex Roman catholic. I believe because of this that I can relate in many ways to the Reformers of the 16th century who like me were at one time Roman catholic. I became a Presbyterian after reading the teachings of John Calvin and John Knox.

I believe John Calvin possessed one of the most brilliant minds among Reformation theologians, sparking a movement that revolutionized the Christian church in Europe, America, and ultimately the rest of the world.
The roots of the Presbyterian Church trace back to John Calvin, a 16th-century French reformer. Calvin trained for the Catholic priesthood, but later converted to the Reformation Movement and became a theologian and minister. Calvin's theology was very similar to Martin Luther's. He agreed with Luther on the doctrines of original sin, justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the sole authority of the Scriptures. He distinguishes himself theologically from Luther primarily with the doctrines of predestination and eternal security. I am a moderate Calvinist and I believe firmly in the doctrine of eternal security of those saved by faith alone in Christ alone and I believe it is the free gift of the grace of God alone and no merit of mine that I am saved by Faith alone.
I renounce the Roman catholic teaching of faith and works. I renounce that teaching because it detracts from the simple message of salvation by faith alone. I do good works because I am in the process of sanctification in Christ; but there are no meritorious works which I can do to attain salvation. To teach the Roman catholic doctrine of faith and works denies the redemptive work of Christ on the cross at Calvary for all who place faith in Him alone.
There are also reasons other reasons that I am today a Presbyterian, I believe firmly in The Authority of Scripture. I believe that our knowledge of God and God's purpose for humanity comes from the Bible, particularly what is revealed in the New Testament through the life of Jesus Christ.
I renounce the authority of the pope and the Roman catholic teaching of scripture and tradition, it is Scripture alone which is our only and final authority
I believe in Justification by Grace through Faith. Our salvation ,justification, is through Jesus is God's generous gift to us and not the result of our own accomplishments.
I believe in the the Priesthood of All Believers. It is everyone's job - ministers and lay people alike to share the Good News with the whole world. The Presbyterian church is governed at all levels by a combination of clergy and laity, men and women alike.
I renounce the Roman catholic teaching of an elect and special priesthood and clergy though the RC sacrament of Holy Orders, which has no scriptural basis as a sacrament.
I believe in the the Sovereignty of God. God is the supreme authority throughout the universe. I renounce again the authotrity claimed by the church of Rome and her pope.
Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, I trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we Presbyterians worship and serve.
I believe that God comes to us in free and undeserved favor in the person of Jesus Christ who lived, died, and rose for us that we might belong to God and serve Christ in the world. Following Jesus, as a Presbyterian I believe I am engaged in the world and in seeking thoughtful solutions to the challenges of our time. I will work to spread the true message of the Gospel that it is through faith alone we are saved and no meritorious works of ours.
I am today a Presbyterian because Presbyterians affirm that God comes to us with grace and love in the person of Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and rose for us so that we might have eternal and abundant life in him.
I am also a Presbyterian because I stand with John Knox in his opposition to Roman Catholicism. I also think as Knox did regarding the Lords Supper.
Knox wrote on Holy Communion the following and I am a Presbyterian because I believe as Knox did on the sacrament. He said" Here is briefly declared in a summary, according to the holy scriptures, what opinion we Christians have of the Lord's Supper, called the sacrament of the body and blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
First, we confess that it is a holy action, ordained of God, in the which the Lord Jesus, by earthly and visible things set before us, lifts us up unto heavenly and invisible things. And that when he had prepared his spiritual banquet, he witnessed that he himself was the lively bread wherewith our souls are fed unto everlasting life.
And therefore, in setting forth bread and wine to eat and drink, he confirms and seals up to us his promise and communion (that is, that we shall be partakers with him in his kingdom); and he represents unto us, and makes plain to our senses, his heavenly gifts; and also gives unto us himself, to be received with faith, and not with mouth, nor yet by transfusion of substance; but so, through the virtue [power] of the Holy Ghost, that we, being fed with his flesh, and refreshed with his blood, may be renewed both unto true godliness and to immortality.
And also [we confess] that herewith the Lord Jesus gathered us unto one visible body, so that we are members one of another, and make altogether one body, whereof Jesus Christ is the only Head; and, finally, that by the same sacrament, the Lord calls us to remembrance of his death and passion, to stir up our hearts to praise his most holy name.
Furthermore, we acknowledge that this sacrament ought to be come unto reverently, considering there is exhibited and given a testimony of the wonderful society and knitting together of the Lord Jesus and of the receivers; and also, that there is included and contained in this sacrament, [a testimony] that he will preserve his kirk. For herein we are commanded to show the Lord's death until he come (1 Cor. 11:26).

Also we believe that it is a confession, wherein we show what kind of doctrine we profess; and what congregation we join ourselves unto; and likewise, that it is a bond of mutual love amongst us. And, finally, we believe that all the comers unto this holy Supper must bring with them their conversion unto the Lord, by unfeigned repentance in faith; and in this sacrament receive the seals and conformation of their faith; and yet must in nowise think that for this work's sake their sins are forgiven.

And as concerning these words, Hoc est corpus meum, "This is my body" (1 Cor. 11:24; Matt. 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19), on which the Papists depend so much, saying that we must needs believe that the bread and wine are transubstantiated unto Christ's body and blood: we acknowledge [declare] that it is no article of our faith which can save us, nor which we are bound to believe upon pain of eternal damnation. For if we should believe that his very natural body, both flesh and blood, were naturally in the bread and wine, that should not save us, seeing many believe that, and yet receive it to their damnation. For it is not his presence in the bread that can save us, but his presence in our hearts, through faith in his blood, which has washed out our sins, and pacified his Father's wrath towards us. And again, if we do not believe his bodily presence in the bread and wine, that shall not damn us, but the absence out of our hearts through unbelief.
Now, if they would here object, that though it be truth, that the absence out of the bread could not damn us, yet are we bound to believe it because of God's word, saying, "This is my body" (1 Cor. 11:24); which who believes not, as much as in him lies, makes God a liar; and, therefore of an obstinate mind not to believe his word, may be our damnation: [2]To this we answer, that we believe God's word, and confess that it is true, but not so to be understood as the Papists grossly affirm. For in the sacrament we receive Jesus Christ spiritually, as did the fathers of the Old Testament, according to St. Paul's saying (1 Cor. 10:3-4). And if men would well weigh, how that Christ, ordaining his holy sacrament of his body and blood, spoke these words sacramentally, doubtless they would never so grossly and foolishly understand them, contrary to all the scriptures, and to the exposition of St. Augustine, St. Jerome, Fulgentius, Vigilius, Origen, and many other godly writers. ~ John Knox on the Lords Supper ~
I think John Knox was the most famous Scottish Reformer, was also like me at one time a Roman catholic.
Knox remained outside Scotland during the beginning of the ault life of Roman Catholic Queen Mary's reign.
In 1559, he came back to Scotland for good. The Scottish people were now ready to end Roman Catholicism once and for all, after the death of Walter Mill. Knox began to preach throughout Scotland, and God saved many people. In the autumn, he became minister at St Andrews. The people in St Andrews had been convinced by Knox’s preaching and had taken all the pictures and images out of the church.
1560 was the key year in the First Scottish Reformation. The Scottish Parliament passed laws getting rid of the mass and the Pope’s power in Scotland. Knox and five other men, all called John, wrote important documents such as the Scots Confession of Faith, which explained what the church believed. In the summer, Knox became minister in Edinburgh. In December, the first General Assembly met in Edinburgh.
From 1567 until he was assassinated three years later, Scotland was ruled by the Protestant Regent Moray. The second Reformation Parliament met in the same year and passed more laws in favor of the Reformation. The years from 1560 onwards saw worship simplified, evangelism, care of the poor and more education, so the ordinary people could read the Bible. Instead of the outward forms of Roman Catholicism, public worship was now based around reading, preaching and singing from God’s word.
Knox continued preaching for the rest of his life and died in 1572. John Knox saw how important it was for the church to do what the Bible said, and not just what they thought was right. He wasn’t afraid to stand up to anyone, even kings and queens, for what he knew was right. His preaching was used by God to transform the whole of Scotland.

I like the following statement by Knox very much. He said "When I think of those who have influenced my life the most, I think not of the great but of the good."
~ Dudley Davis ~ November 1st 2014 ~


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## earl40 (Nov 1, 2014)

Thanx Dudly. 

Don't you wish we could simply say we are protestants today? I realize there is only one church but today's Protestantism is so far and away different than it was in Calvin's and Luther's day it saddens me.


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## Jeri Tanner (Nov 4, 2014)

Thanks, Dudley. I appreciated and was refreshed by this- thanks for speaking so boldly. Many are becoming unwilling to speak so plainly about the truth of Roman Catholicism and the joy of deliverance from it.


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## GulfCoast Presbyterian (Nov 4, 2014)

Dudley: Glad to see you posting again!


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## reaganmarsh (Nov 4, 2014)

GulfCoast Presbyterian said:


> Dudley: Glad to see you posting again!



Yes indeed!


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