THE DECLINE of
HISTORIC
BIBLE
PROTESTANTISM

Dr. Ronald Cooke

A study in three booklets dealing with the resurgence of false religion and the decline of Biblical Christianity.

In this first booklet the resurgence of Romanism is examined, and the stuttering and sputtering of present-day Protestantism is also set forth. In subsequent booklets we will examine the Biblical view of Conspiracy, and how that view differs considerably from the view held by many conservatives today. We will also look at the intolerance of Romanism and the meaningless concessions made by the leading ecumenical scholars of Rome today.

Be sure to get all three booklets and be informed on what is really happening in the religious world of today.

INTRODUCTION

John Bunyan wrote about the battle for Mansoul three hundred years ago. The battle is still the same battle today; it is still the battle for the souls of men. In other words the battle is a theological one in spite of the fact that we live in a day when theology is downgraded and ignored by many.

I remember Dr. Ian Paisley in his early days when he was being smeared by the men of the church (as he still is) said that he was not going to engage in the personal smear, that his battle was a theological one, and that he would fight that battle without apology to anyone. I have always tried to keep to that; the battle which is going on today is theological although many do not seem to realize it.

Whenever I mention men by name I am not questioning their personal lives or their morality. (Although it is difficult to separate theological error from morality.) Many of the men mentioned in this study are good men with good reputations and nice personalities. However, I believe that they are in error theologically, and since a person’s theology (modern thinking, notwithstanding) determines eternal destiny, I believe it is not only necessary, but it is any true minister’s duty to take issue with those who promulgate theological error. In dealing with error I try to stick with the great tenets of the Christian faith, not picayune non-essentials that many want to fight over today.

In dealing with the issue of false religion I also recognize that many Roman Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other cultists are wonderful people personally. They are nice people with pleasant personalities. My dear wife Carole received very kind treatment at Mercy Hospital in Altoona. Everyone was very kind to her. However, this generation needs to be made aware that kindheartedness, although a very worthy trait, does not make us fit for heaven. This is where so many err today. This error is demonstrated in the following pages. To be justified before God is the most important truth that anyone can ever know. We are not justified by good works but rather by the finished WORK of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other kind of justification and no other way whereby man can attain right standing with God.

Carole had ample opportunity to witness to many Roman Catholics during her stay in the hospital, even to Roman Catholic sisters. Some were better informed than others, but none seemed to possess the assurance of salvation. One dear sister who prayed a “Protestant” prayer with Carole every day at first, after Carole had a chance to witness to her and give her some material on how to be saved, seldom came back after that. Now these people are kind and gracious and tender and loving, but they are steeped in error. This is tragic beyond words. It is sad but true that the lost condition of millions in Romanism today in America must be laid at the door of the fundamental church. The high-pressure tactics to get people to say “Yes” to some emotional appeal has brought about a generation who all “believe” in their own way. Because of the superficial encounter with religion it is well-nigh impossible to dislodge them from the precarious presumption in which they live today.

It is difficult to dislodge the Roman Catholic from his good-works, sacramentarian idea of salvation. In dealing with Roman Catholics in our evangelistic meetings I have found it very difficult to get them to see the finished work of Christ and the error of a works-religion. Some will agree with everything that is said but continue to receive the mass. So if we believe that a man is justified without the deeds of the law, then any works-religion is the Devil’s counterfeit. It cannot be otherwise.

Many of the people witnessed to in America today say that they believe (but the demons also believe); whether these people are justified by faith in the finished work of Christ is quite another thing altogether. Do not the Bible-believing ministers of the Gospel, the heirs of the glorious Protestant Reformation, owe it to them to make sure that they are not trusting in a false hope? For if they are, their flimsy claim to “believe” will one day land them among the torments of the damned, lost forever.

It is becoming increasingly evident that the works-religion which the Reformers repudiated has made a re-entrance into the modern church, yes, and even into areas of evangelicalism, and into areas of fundamentalism. Presumption is rampant. Evaluation is almost totally absent. False religion fits into this kind of religious atmosphere, and its overwhelming presence can be traced to the ineffective preaching of many who consider themselves evangelicals, and even those who consider themselves fundamentalists, and yes, even those who consider themselves the heirs of the Reformed tradition.

Manahath School of Theology
January 1982
2nd Printing
3rd Printing, March 1986

(To be continued.)