Nearly all protestant denominations claim to preach the teachings of Jesus and ask their members to follow them. But, that’s only on the surface. But if anyone scratches the surface to know more, you will find some of the very important doctrines contrary to the teachings of Jesus and lead its members not into eternal life. In this post, we will compare what Anglicans believe on how a person is saved to that of the teachings of Jesus.
St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, Australia (Source: Wiki)
Anglicans: How is a person saved?
The Q&A: How is a person saved? referred by ‘what we believe‘ is from the official website of Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church. We will go through each point by point to see how they reject the teachings of Jesus.
Anglicans (only based on Paul)
Jesus Christ, Disciples & Scripture
The Bible makes it clear that no-one is good enough to deserve acceptance by God (Romans 3:9-20). On the contrary, we deserve to be condemned and punished by him (Ephesians 2:1-3).
(Anglicans trust Paul that no one is good enough to be accepted by God)
Ezek 14:14 “Even [if] these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver [only] themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord GOD.
Gen 7:1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen [that] you [are] righteous before Me in this generation.
(God declares Noah, Daniel and Job as righteous and delivers them)
However, through Jesus’ death on the cross everyone who believes in him is”justified” (Romans 3:21-26). Justification is the technical term the Bible uses for God accepting us and pronouncing us”not guilty.” It’s the opposite of condemnation (see Romans 5:16, 5:18, and 8:33-34).
(Anglicans trust Paul that everyone who believes in Jesus is justified)
Luke 18:14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified [rather] than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Matt 9:6 “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”–then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” (Jesus taught that a tax collector can be justified as per the law without Jesus or His death on the cross. Jesus also taught that He has authority to forgive sins before dying on the cross)
This verdict is based not on our good works (which would never be sufficient), but on those of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:16-19). God counts his obedience as ours, and our wrongdoing as his (2 Corinthians 5:21). At the cross, Jesus bore the punishment we deserve, so that we can share in the eternal life he deserves (2 Peter 2:22; John 3:16). So our good works don’t contribute anything to our justification.
(Anglicans trust Paul on imputation, that is good works and obedience of what Jesus did somehow magically justifies us)
Jas 2:24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
(Jesus did not teach any imputation. James taught us that we are justified by our works. The two references are misquotes. John 3:16-21 says the opposite that everyone who does evil deeds are already condemned and only those who do good comes to the light)
It’s by faith alone that we share in what Jesus has accomplished for us. Scripture says:“To the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works.” (Romans 4:5-6, italics mine). And again:“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy.” (Titus 3:5).
(Anglicans trust Paul and reject the requirement of good works, righteousness or obedience to the teachings of Jesus, for salvation. Further, Romans 4:6-8 is a misquote since David didn’t say what Paul claims in his quote of Psalms 32:1-2)
Matt 5:20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds [the] [righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 18:8-9 “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast [it] from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast [it] from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.
(Jesus taught our rigteousness must exceed the righteousness of scribes and Pharisees to enter the kingdom of God and only the sinless can enter life)
Nevertheless, this does not mean that works are unimportant. You are absolutely right that”faith without works is dead” (James 2:26), and that what we do matters to salvation. Our works prove the reality of our faith. This is the point James makes in James 2. A faith that makes no difference to our life is not a true, saving faith. The issue is which come first. The bible is clear about this. We are saved by faith alone and from that salvation comes the good works that shows we have been saved. Look at the theif on the cross. He did no good works yet we know he was saved because Jesus tels us that he was. And why? Because he put his faith in Jesus.
(Anglicans reject James that justification is by works as in Jas 2:24. How is it possible that works are an evidence of salvation when James said it is required for salvation?)
Matt 25:44-46 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do [it] to one of the least of these, you did not do [it] to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
(Jesus always taught obedience to His teachings – i.e, good works, righteousness, holiness always precedes Salvation. We cannot be saved if we don’t obey Him. The thief humbled, repented of his sins, acknowledged Christ as the King and even rebuked and started preaching to the other thief with both his hands and legs nailed to the cross to get qualified for entering His kingdom – Luke 23:39-43)
Conclusion
The core doctrine of Anglicans for how a person is saved has nothing to do with teachings of Jesus. Instead, they follow Paul and reject Christ’s doctrine on Salvation.
He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him–the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
John 12:48
Are you ready to receive the words of Jesus? Or reject His words for the sake of your church doctrines using Paul? Follow Jesus and obey His commandments for salvation, not any church or doctrines of men.
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