I feel now, after watching this, that the Lutheran doctrine of faith alone is questionable.
Not all Protestants believe the same thing. And there are different ideas among Lutherans, as far as I know. There are at least two major groups of Lutherans, and a number of members of one group won't let those of another main group have communion with them. So, all I am saying is, he can't speak for all Lutherans.
And I have been with a variety of Bible claiming people who don't buy Catholicism and they believe you can lose your salvation and must do certain works in order to be saved. Plus, in the American Catholic culture there are even people who claim to be Catholic but don't even believe in the Trinity.
Ones can stay in groups in hope of reaching people around them, and swinging people of a group to their causes.
But my opinion is you can find what is official Roman Catholic belief and practice, but ones claiming to be officially Roman Catholic might be staying in Catholicism for other than Catholic reasons. So, you need to be able to tell the difference, with each person, I would say.
And, in any case, Jesus is able to make you able to tell the difference between one of God's children and someone who is not > I offer this in consideration of the Gospel of John 10:1-30 with John 7:24 < therefore, I offer that you can't know who is really who, only by someone's say-so and how a person makes things look. God is the One who knows whom He wants you to trust and who not, and how to trust each person. So we need to submit to God and how he enlightens us and personally guides us, then, in order to really get anywhere eternally good.
A speaker on the video claims that Martin Luther taught justification by faith alone; but, he also says, this was not taught for thousands of years before Martin came along. But he can't speak for the gentle and quiet and humble people who all along have lived God's way. They might not be mentioned in the history books; in history we can see how ones who have had public power have shut out a thing or two so they could make it look like they were the ones in control and authority. The real pastors, for all I know, were too busy with caring for the sheep > these might not have been trying to get public attention >
"nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." (1 Peter 5:3)
My opinion is the true church possibly has never had big-name leaders as our only means to get the truth. The true believers have been gentle and quiet and humble, busy with taking care of God's children personally . . . not fighting out in public about doctrine and policy. I personally would say there is much more to salvation than having faith, plus what is more is not what Roman Catholicism is claiming; because I find that God's word gives us much more and it is different and so better than what certain mainstream Catholicism and certain Protestantism is presenting.
You can look in the Bible, yourself, and discover what is emphasized and how this compares with what you hear and read from people claiming to be of different groups.
A thing can be that the ones making a big show might not be the
"examples" to get to know.
See where God's word mainly brings your attention . . . and compare this with where any person of any group mainly is calling your attention.
But, best of all > find real Jesus people who are obvious examples of how God's word says God has us becoming in our character and living in His love > leaders who succeed because of their example which feeds you to become like Jesus and loving like Jesus >
"nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." (1 Peter 5:3)
"And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." (Ephesians 5:2)
The speaker on the video refers us to James where it says a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. Yes, God's word says this >
"You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." (James 2:24)
And the grammatical structure here has
"justified by" referring both to
"works" and to
"faith". The same word is applied to what each does. But God's word makes it clear this does not mean works we have gotten ourselves to do > Titus 3:5. And you can see three examples of works which James gives earlier in the same chapter. These are works of personal loving, I see. So, these are works done in God's love . . . by means of >
"faith working through love" > Galatians 5:6.
So, you can talk with people and see for yourself what works each one believes in or denies that we have to do in order to be saved. Ones who say no works are needed might say you need to say a prayer > but saying a prayer would be a work, I would say. But let each one speak for oneself, and see where they take your . . . attention
"Therefore submit to God." (in James 4:7)
And our Apostle Paul says >
"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15)
So, a basic in any case is we need to personally submit to God, by submitting to how He personally rules us in His own peace. And He will have us doing works, indeed, if we obey His word >
"for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)
So, even our willing is to be submitted to God who works our willing and our doing.
So, I have offered you what is right in the Bible, and I am dyslectic and reading impaired with no seminary. And I can tell you these things which I think you can see are in God's word or not. So, now you can let people speak for themselves and see if they talk about God's word or just about comparing their group to some other group.
The guy on the tape talks about how the Bible says we will reap what we sow. Yes, Galatians 6:7-8 says we will reap what we sow. But this does not mean we are to do the works which some group says God wants. I offer, that Paul means we do what God in us has us doing with Him in His peace. And as we do works of His love, this love is effecting us emotionally and spiritually to become more and more like Jesus . . . so we become ready to spend eternity with Jesus.
But there are people who do works in stress and fear and worry and hurry and burn-out and immorality and arguing and food abuse and frustration and nasty anger and different lusts > and the deep nasty stuff of this is corrupting them while they do works in such nasty stuff. I mean we grow in what we exercise in > we now are getting a sample in us, in our personalities, of whatever we really are sowing.
Therefore >
"Let all that you do be done with love." (1 Corinthians 16:14)
"'Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'" (Matthew 11:29)
"the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (in Philippians 4:4-8)
Now, I understand that God is almighty; so His peace is almighty. And this scripture guarantees that God's own peace will guard our
"hearts and minds" > to me, it is elementary school logic that if God's peace is almighty, then our Father's peace can easily guard our
"hearts and minds" against any cruel feelings and emotional chaos that would mess with us.
Now, then > you can let various religious people speak for themselves, and see if they tell you that God's peace is almighty to easily guard our
"hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." This means if we pray the way Philippians 4:6-7 says to pray; so our works of prayer, then, need to be done God's way so we live in this peace, I would say. So, just doing copy-cat works certainly is not enough. So > is this where someone calls your attention, or does a person merely call attention to comparing one's own group with other groups????
And, by the way, two people or groups competing can both be wrong, or each partly correct . . . or, of course, one could be right
On the tape, he says John Calvin got people farther off track, but he doesn't specify what he is referring to, of John.
He says Jesus established the church to speak for Him. The church had a council when there was an issue, according to Acts > yes, this is found in Acts 15. He claims this is what the church has been doing until the reformers contradicted God's word. But this does not automatically prove that the group he is supporting is the real obedient apostolic church.
After all, our Apostle Paul says what qualifies a person to
"take care of the church of God" > 1 Timothy 3:1-10. You can see for yourself if a certain group is obviously holding themselves to this standard. In any case, you can find people who meet these qualifications, and you can feed on their good example
What matters is a person's Biblical example, not merely conforming of ideas and practices! . . . in my opinion. And Jesus makes us able to tell the difference > John 10:1-30.
