1. Refuting The Protestant Reformed Churches (PRC)

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• published: 01 May 2013
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In this video, I would like to demonstrate that the Gospel held and taught by Martin Luther and John Calvin is quite different from the one held and taught by David J. Engelsma (a leading theologian of the Protestant Reformed Churches). When I confronted David J. Engelsma and the Protestant Reformed Churches, telling them how the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Gospel in its strict and narrow sense, does not demand our obedience, let alone our work of joining and remaining in an institutional church, Engelsma responded by publishing a book titled A Defense of the Church Institute: Response to the Critics of Bound to Join. Taken from Engelsma's book, here is the gospel according to David J. Engelsma: The gospel demands church membership in Article 28 of the Belgic Confession. The demand "bound to join" is an integral part of the gospel. (A Defense of the Church Institute, page 96) The gospel demands church membership in Question and Answer 103 of the Heidelberg Catechism. (A Defense of the Church Institute, page 96) The gospel demands church membership in its dreadful warnings. (A Defense of the Church Institute, page 97) The gospel demands church membership by positive exhortations. (A Defense of the Church Institute, page 97) The gospel demands church membership by the presupposition that runs throughout the entire New Testament. (A Defense of the Church Institute, page 97) In order to emphasize he believes a gospel that demands our obedience, in order to emphatically demonstrate that he thinks we are justified by our works, rather than by God's sheer grace alone in Christ alone, each one of the quotes above was strategically placed by Engelsma himself at the beginning of a separate paragraph. Engelsma chants this false gospel like Roman Catholic monk. Now consider how Engelsma's demonic teaching absolutely contradicts the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ taught and described by Martin Luther and John Calvin. Luther writes: For the Law is a taskmaster; it demands that we work and that we give. In short, it wants to have something from us. The Gospel, on the contrary, does not demand; it grants freely...Therefore if the Gospel is a gift and offers a gift, it does not demand anything. On the other hand, the Law does not grant anything; it makes demands on us, and impossible ones at that. (Luther's Works, Volume 26, page 209) Therefore only the Gospel reveals the Son of God. Oh, if only one could distinguish carefully here and not look for the Law in the Gospel but keep it as separate from the Law as heaven is distant from the earth!...Now if the Gospel is the revelation of the Son of God, as it really is, then it certainly does not demand works, threaten death, or terrify the conscience. (Luther's Works, Volume 26, page 72) Unlike the false gospel of David Engelsma, the pure Gospel that Luther describes, the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, does not demand our works nor threaten us! John Calvin, Martin Luther's greatest student, also held to Law / Gospel Distinction and never claimed the Gospel demands our works, for Calvin agreed with Luther that the Gospel in its proper saving sense is only about Jesus Christ and His perfect imputed righteousness. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is never about our righteousness, nor does it demand our works. Calvin writes: Do you see how he makes the distinction between the Law and the Gospel to be, that the former gives justification by works, whereas the latter bestowes it freely without any help from works? (Institutes of the Christian Religion, III, XI, section 17) But the Gospel differs from the Law in this, that it does not confine justification to works, but places it entirely in the mercy of God. (Institutes of the Christian Religion, III, XI, section 18) So, it is clear David J. Engelsma is NOT Reformed. It is clear that David J. Engelsma has an impure false gospel, a gospel hopelessly mixed with Law throughout, a papist teaching that cannot save, assure, nor comfort. Engelsma's heresy rejects salvation by grace alone (Sola Gratia) and justification by faith alone (Sola Fide), while asserting human free-will and denying Total Depravity. If this is the teaching of the PRC, then the PRC does not have the most important mark of a true church, which, according to The Belgic Confession, article 29, requires the PURE Gospel to be preached. Remember, the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ has no Law mixed in it, makes no demands for our obedience, and does not threaten nor scare us. The pure Gospel of Jesus Christ is only about Jesus Christ and what He did for us—it is the sheer sovereign grace of God alone. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Romans 3:28