The Insidious Deception of the Born Again Sect

David Martin | The Daily Knight

Of all the deceptions that have misled humanity in these last times, the ideology of the Born-Again sect is perhaps the worst in that it has seduced countless millions into believing they are already saved without works. Like palm readers, born again zealots ring the ears of those who are not willing to atone for their sins.

And for this disservice they expect to get paid for it, which calls to mind pseudo evangelist and White House “faith adviser” Paula White who wildly demands money for her “prayers.” She even said that if she didn’t receive $100,000 from a certain party she would refuse to “lay hands” on them anymore. How precious she makes herself!

This self-righteous pomposity is rooted in the born-again movement that uses the name of God to allure “unstable souls” with false promises of instant salvation (2 Peter 2:14). The born-again formula is to simply accept Christ as “personal savior” to secure “being saved” without the need for works, penance, or prayer.

However, this personal savior formula is worthless and unfounded. Nowhere in the Gospel does Christ prescribe this, nor is the term “personal savior” found anywhere in the Bible. The born-again ideology is all about excusing sin and it uses the Bible to promote this.

Abstract and Impersonal

The paradox of the born-again sect is that it “hails” Christ as personal savior, when in fact it is very abstract and impersonal in its approach to God. They cry “Lord, Lord,” but they don’t want to see his face, they don’t want to hear his voice, they refuse to hear his prophets, they refuse to obey his commands, they mock his miracles and saints, they refuse to look at a Crucifix – they want nothing to do with him! They just want to scrap Catholicism and feel “saved” on account of it.

 An Attack on Baptism

A key objective of the born-again movement is to reject the sacrament of Baptism by which a man is spiritually reborn. Baptism is indispensable for our salvation. As Christ told Nicodemus, “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (St. John 3:5) Note that the application of water is indispensable when baptizing souls. There is no spiritual rebirth without the application of water. 

What born-again Protestants have done is to replace Baptism with their own man-made ceremony whereby they imagine themselves to be saved. This is heretical because (1) baptism is rejected and because (2) they proclaim that they are already saved.             

Salvation begins only after we die, not while we are living. There is no grace or heavenly power that constrains us to remain in grace during our life, as much as God impels this. We can always fall from grace, and if we do so without repentance, we lose our salvation in the end (2 Peter 2:22).

As the Apostle Paul told the Ephesians: 

"Know you this and understand, that no fornicator, or unclean, or covetous person (which is a serving of idols), has inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things cometh the anger of God upon the children of unbelief. Be ye not therefore partakers with them. (Ephesians 5:5,6)

In speaking to baptized (reborn) Christians, Christ said, "Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of man." (Luke 21:36) Quite obviously, these reborn Christians won't be worthy to stand before the Son of Man if they don't persevere to the end with penance and works (Mt. 24: 13).

Rejecting the use of the Free Will to Please God

In the spirit of Luther, the born-again “doctrine” rejects the use of the free will to please God. As born-again enthusiasts see it, one’s disposition, prayers, or works have nothing to do with salvation, but by that attitude they alienate themselves from Christ whom they say is their Savior.

The fact is that one is justified by love, works, and obedience, not by empty lip service. As Christ said, "Why do you call me, Lord, Lord; and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6: 46) What Christ requires is the keeping of his commandments. "If you love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15)     

Scripture tells us that Christ will "render to every man according to his works." (Romans 2:6) The Apostle James reminds us that “faith without works is dead.” (James 2: 20,26). Christ Himself said that neglecting good works incurs eternal damnation. At his Second Coming He will declare to those who neglected works:  

“Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me not in: naked, and you covered me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit me…. And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting.” (Matthew 25: 41-43, 46)

No Forgiveness Without Forgiving

In spite of this scriptural instruction, the born-again evangelicals insist that they are saved with no chance of losing God’s forgiveness. Have they forgotten Christ’s words in the Gospel: “If you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences.” (Mt. 6:15) What this means is that if one is holding a grudge against someone and he refuses to amend the problem before he dies, he will not be forgiven but will be eternally banished. Being “reborn” will not save him from this.   

Even so, the born-again sect refuses to atone for sin arguing that Christ already did this for us. Oh really? So Christ died on the Cross so that we could sin worry free? Nay, he died that we might never sin again. His command is we avoid all occasions of sin and that we work out our salvation "with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12)

Misunderstanding About Works

Born-again zealots have their pet Bible verses marked out thinking falsely that these support their ideology, but to them Christ says: “Search the scriptures, for you think in them to have life everlasting; and the same are they that give testimony of me.” (John 5:39) One of their favorite verses is from Romans.

“By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before him… For we account a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law.” (Romans 3: 20, 28)

Protestants use this verse to argue that we are not saved by works, which shows just how foreign the Bible is to them. When the Apostle Paul said that by the works of the law no man shall be justified, he wasn’t speaking of good works but was speaking of the ceremonial works of the old Mosaic law where they performed circumcism and offered animals in sacrifice. These are dead works that were nullified 2000-years ago. Jesus makes it clear that he will judge us according to our individual works (Mt. 16:27). "For not the hearers of the law 1 are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." (Roman 2:13)

The false security of the born-again sect is rooted in Luther’s so-called “doctrine of justification,” which perhaps was best expressed when he told his fellow colleague Philip Melanchthon: 

"Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly…. No sin will separate us from the Christ, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day.” (From Luther’s letter to Philip Melanchthon, August 1, 1521, LW Vol. 48, pp. 281, 282)

Note the absolute absence of contrition in Luther’s religion. His definition of “repent” was to protest the Catholic Church and the born-again community echoes this ideology to the core. What they have fashioned for themselves is a manmade counter-church without spirit – a golden calf.

Luther’s league With Satan

Unbeknownst to many, Martin Luther was a secret society initiate who engaged in lengthy conversations with the devil, which in turn gave birth to his “doctrine on justification.” He referred to the Catholic Church as a “whore” and called the pope a “pig.” He lived a life of adultery and blasphemed Christ by saying:

“Christ committed adultery first of all with the woman at the well… Secondly with Mary Magdalene, and thirdly with the woman taken in adultery.” (Luther’s Works, American Edition, Volume 54, p. 154, Concordia Publishing House.) 2

With his blackened conscience catching up with him, Luther then invented the idea of “sin and be saved” so that he wouldn’t have to feel accountable for his sins.

Clearly, this hero of Protestantism was no witness to the Gospel. As “spiritual adviser” to the German Army, Luther commanded the troops to kill some 80,000 peasants for opposing his “reformation.” This intrusion upon the peasants is what triggered the German-Peasant War of 1524-1525.

In 1526, Luther justified his role in the killing of peasants, saying,

“I, Martin Luther, have during the rebellion slain all the peasants, for it was I who ordered them to be struck dead.” (Erlangen LW, Vol. 59, p. 284)

The Protestant Rejection of the Bible

Another deceptive error of Luther and his followers is the fallacy that the Bible is the sole source of divine revelation (sola scriptura). Revelation is twofold with the Church being the unwritten word of God and the Bible being the written word. Both are of equal authority and must be accepted by the faithful. As St. Paul himself says:

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle.” (2 Thess. 2:14) That is, whether by our spoken word (Church) or by our written word (Bible).

The absurdity of ‘Bible only’ Protestants is that they reject seven canonical books of the Bible, namely, the six deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament and the Epistle of James. Where is their love of the Bible?

1. That is, the New Testament Law established by Christ.

2. Note Luther’s ignorance of Scripture in saying that Mary Magdalen and the woman taken in adultery were two different people. Catholic tradition has always held that Mary Magdalen was Martha’s sister, who was also Mary of Bethany, the same who wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair. In 591, St. Gregory the Great himself declared that Mary Magdalene was the woman taken in adultery.