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Church fathers.
9/14/20262 min read
Perfect Day, Saints!
The first time I ever went to church, my primary school teacher invited me to what I thought was a regular musical concert. It turned out to be a Christian play about Jesus on the Cross.
The second time I went to church, I was invited to a service that actually took place inside a literal concert hall.
The night I returned home from that service, on 2nd January 2005, I experienced a prophetic dream that would become one of the hinges of my faith.
The first things I saw were wooden walls and wooden pews—polished and solid, without any intricate patterns. It was there, in that traditional church, that I met Jesus Christ.
For a long time, I wondered why this happened in a traditional setting instead of either of the modern churches I had been to at that point. The answer used to be a haze to me, but it hit me like a ton of bricks in 2023: I was being called to return to the faith of the Church fathers.
These are the articles of faith that I testify to, in contrast to the teachings of my old church:
1. The Separation of Justification from Sanctification
Believers are justified (declared righteous by faith), and then they undergo sanctification (the lifelong process of becoming holy and avoiding sin). My old church merges these two concepts or ignores sanctification entirely.
2. Confession of Sin for Believers
1 John 1:9 states that if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. My old church teaches that this verse was written to Gnostics (unbelievers) rather than Christians. It asserts that because all past, present, and future sins were forgiven at the Cross, believers do not need to confess their daily sins to God to receive forgiveness. This contradicts the overall New Testament narrative, which encourages regular self-examination and confession to maintain a healthy relationship with God.
3. Continuity of the Law and the Old Testament
My old church heavily emphasizes that believers are completely free from the Law of Moses. This creates a false dichotomy by pitting the Old Testament against the New Testament, or "Law versus Grace", effectively rendering large portions of scripture irrelevant to believers. Romans 3:31 says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
4. The Need for Spiritual Discipline
My old church advocates for an "effortless" Christian life driven purely by grace. This omits or minimizes New Testament passages that call for spiritual effort, discipline, and endurance—such as Paul's metaphors of straining like an athlete or fighting a good fight. True grace empowers holy effort rather than replacing it.
5. Counting the Cost of the Gospel of Peace
My old church aligns with the Word of Faith movement due to its teachings on material and physical blessings. It frequently teaches that physical healing and financial prosperity are guaranteed components of the atonement. This minimizes the reality of Christian suffering, trials, and martyrdom, which are explicitly promised throughout the New Testament.
Stay on course in Jesus Christ, amen?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? (James 2:21 KJV)