Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001728A
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00:01 I'm John Carter in Moscow...
00:02 I'm now in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. 00:04 I'm John Carter in Petra... 00:06 Reporting from India... 00:08 In Columbia... 00:09 I'm John Carter. 00:11 Today on the Carter Report, 00:13 Pastor Carter brings us the triumph of Protestantism. 00:21 We welcome you back 00:23 to the second part of the program 00:24 on the triumph of Protestantism. 00:27 In the last portion of the presentation, 00:30 I talked about the Dark Ages, 00:31 how the church went down 00:33 into the darkness of papal night. 00:36 We spoke about all these strange, 00:39 awful teachings from pagan Rome that invaded the church. 00:44 Then I thought rising sun shedding its rays 00:50 across solemn and darken landscape 00:53 came the Protestant Reformation. 00:59 John Wycliffe, have you heard of him? 01:02 In the 1300s, he was over there in England 01:04 translating the Bible. 01:06 All of these people were terribly persecuted 01:08 and some of them were put to death 01:10 because they actually read the Bible. 01:12 In Bohemia or Czechoslovakia in the 1400s, 01:16 it was a Roman Catholic priest by the name of Jan Hus 01:21 preaching the Bible, 01:22 a great preacher, great man of God, 01:25 they burned him at the stake, burned millions of people 01:31 mainly Roman Catholics, Jews, and then Protestants. 01:35 Then there was Martin Luther, the German priest 01:39 stood before the Diet of Worms in 1521 01:43 said those famous words, "Unless I am convinced 01:46 by the plain words of the Bible or by reason, 01:52 my conscience is captive to the Word of God. 01:56 I cannot and I will not recant. 02:01 Here I stand, God help me." 02:04 In Switzerland, in the 1530, there was John Calvin. 02:09 And in Scotland in the 1560s, 02:12 there was John Knox preaching the Word of God. 02:16 Now these great preachers had all of this in common, 02:20 they believed in the great Solas. 02:23 Now if you forget everything else today 02:26 become intelligently informed on this great subject 02:30 and understand and believe the great Solas. 02:34 Sola Christus, Latin, only Christ. 02:37 Sola scriptura, only scripture, 02:40 everything comes from the Bible. 02:42 Sola gratia, only grace, 02:44 I can only be saved by the grace of God. 02:47 Sola fide, only faith, faith in Christ, 02:53 my Savior and my great High Priest. 02:56 And the Book of Romans 02:59 became the powerhouse of the Protestant Reformation. 03:05 Martin Luther took as his great text, 03:08 Romans 1:16 and 17, 03:12 I want you to notice it, Romans 1, 03:14 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, 03:17 not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, 03:19 for it is the power of God to salvation 03:23 for everyone who believes, 03:25 for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 03:29 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed 03:33 from faith to faith, as it is written, 03:36 'The just shall live by faith.'" 03:39 Martin Luther had a tremendous mind, 03:44 and as a Roman Catholic priest, 03:47 he heard about the righteousness of God. 03:50 And Martin Luther said, "I hate it. 03:54 I hate it." 03:56 His old priest who is hearing his sin said, 03:58 "Why do you hate it?" 03:59 He says, "Because God is righteous, I'm unrighteous, 04:04 God is sinless, I'm a sinner, therefore God hates me. 04:09 And if God hates me then I hate God." 04:14 The righteousness of God I hate it. 04:17 And then he came through his study 04:19 to comprehend the truth 04:21 that when the Bible talks about the righteousness of God, 04:25 it doesn't mean to condemn us but to save us. 04:29 It is the righteousness that comes from Christ 04:32 because of His death on the cross 04:34 and which is given to us as a free gift, 04:37 and that was the power house of the Protestant Reformation. 04:41 Come over now to Romans 3:20 to 24. 04:46 Some would say, 04:48 this is the high watermark of scripture. 04:51 "Therefore by the deeds of the law 04:54 no flesh will be justified in His sight, 04:56 for by the law is the knowledge of sin." 04:58 You can't be saved by your good works. 05:02 "But now the righteousness of God 05:03 apart from the law is revealed, 05:05 being witnessed by the law and the Prophets, 05:07 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, 05:13 to all and on all who believe. 05:16 For there is no difference, 05:18 all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 05:21 being justified," declared righteous, 05:25 "justified freely by His grace 05:28 through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." 05:31 Listen, this became heart and the soul 05:37 of the Protestant Reformation 05:39 that I cannot earn my own righteousness, 05:42 I cannot pay for my sins, 05:45 the Christ on the cross has already paid for my sins. 05:50 And therefore if I believe in Him, 05:53 I am declared righteous. 05:56 Look at this, "I am declared righteous 06:00 the moment I come to Him in true faith." 06:05 And if this is true, if this is true, 06:09 I do not need an earthly priest. 06:12 I do not need to go and confess my sins to a priest. 06:16 I have Christ. 06:18 Christ is my High Priest. 06:20 Christ paid for my sins with His own blood 06:24 and therefore I am free. 06:28 Now The Economist magazine 06:30 has told us a little bit about Protestant Reformation 06:34 and I was quite amazed to read this 06:39 in this secular magazine. 06:42 Early Christianity, this was the pristine gospel. 06:47 And over here, you've got the Eastern Orthodox Church 06:50 that later on became the Russian Orthodox Church. 06:52 But over here, you've got a break way, 06:55 the Roman Catholic Church. 06:58 And then you've got the coming of the Protestant Reformers. 07:03 You can see there, "The Reformation, 1517, 07:07 Martin Luther, John Calvin, the Anabaptist, 07:11 the Anglicans in England preaching the Word of God. 07:15 And then you had the Presbyterians 07:18 and the Mennonites. 07:19 And then you come down a little bit further 07:22 to the Baptists, and the Puritans, 07:24 the people who founded the United States of America 07:29 and there would have been no America 07:32 without the Protestant Reformation, don't forget it. 07:36 So it talks about the Puritans. 07:39 Then you come down to the Quakers, 07:41 the Congregationalists, and the Amish. 07:43 Then you come down to the Great Awakenings, 07:46 and you have the Southern Baptists. 07:49 And then we're told by The Economist, 07:52 you've also got there 07:54 as true Protestants Seventh-day Adventists, 07:58 and the Methodists, and the Salvation Army, 08:01 and the Assemblies of God, 08:04 and it talks about all the churches 08:06 that came from the Protestant Reformation. 08:10 And these churches were raised up by God. 08:16 And when they were raised up by God, 08:19 they brought a positive message 08:21 of hope and salvation to the world, 08:25 the results of Protestantism. 08:26 Now, I know this gets some people terribly mad, 08:28 but you can argue with me 08:30 but you can't argue with the facts. 08:32 These are just the facts. 08:34 The Economist magazine is not a religious article, 08:37 it's just telling you the facts. 08:40 It's talking about economics. 08:44 The results of Protestantism, freedom of conscience. 08:48 I have a free conscience 08:49 because I've confessed my sins to Jesus 08:52 and Jesus has forgiven me. 08:55 Freedom of conscience, prosperity in all things, 09:00 and the liberation of women, and that is why, ladies, 09:04 if you want to go to a place where women are liberated, 09:09 you better go to a place 09:10 that has heard the Protestant gospel. 09:15 This is the truth. 09:18 I'm going to read to you here from The Economist. 09:20 Let me see what I can find for you. 09:24 It says, "Protestant toleration was good for business, too." 09:30 It goes on and says, that the wealthiest countries 09:33 in the world were the Protestant ones. 09:37 It's true. 09:39 Like the United States... 09:40 Just go and look and see where the Protestant Reformers 09:45 unleashed their message upon the world. 09:49 They're the best countries in the world. 09:52 It's where women are liberated 09:54 and it's where people are the happiest 09:58 and the most prosperous. 10:00 This is the truth 10:03 and it even draws a map of those countries. 10:08 "The places where Protestantism is most alive 10:12 and seems politically most salient 10:15 where its churches continue to argue about 10:18 who is right and what the Bible means, 10:20 issuing statements and counterstatements 10:22 just as Luther did," 10:26 this is where it says it's retained, 10:28 it's important status in the world. 10:33 And then it says, "Where overweening rulers 10:36 clash with people demanding 10:38 their rights to religious freedom, 10:41 Luther's divisive, dynamic spirit 10:43 will remain an inspiration for a long time to come." 10:47 And then it goes on to say this. 10:50 Now listen to is, my American friends. 10:55 Communist China is an oppressive place, 10:59 but that's where Protestantism thrives. 11:02 We thrive when we are oppressed, 11:06 and in communist China 11:08 where people are being still beaten up for their faith, 11:12 where the government is bulldozing our churches. 11:17 Within the next three or four years, 11:20 The Economist magazine says, we are going to have 11:26 more than 160 million Protestants, 11:32 160 million. 11:34 It says, America no longer will be 11:37 the biggest Protestant country, 11:38 it will be China where people are going, 11:44 are still being oppressed, 11:49 where the Protestants grow 11:52 so God blesses the nation. 11:56 It's a fact, you can argue with me, 11:58 may not like what I'm saying, it's the truth. 12:01 The best countries, the freest countries, 12:05 the most prosperous countries, I've been around the world 12:08 so many times, I've lost count. 12:10 The cleanest countries, the safest countries, 12:14 the healthiest countries are the countries 12:17 that accepted the preaching of the Protestant Reformers. 12:21 That's the truth. That's the truth. 12:26 And that's why so many people from other countries 12:29 are just lining up to get into these countries 12:32 where the gospel was preached, 12:34 that's what's happening. 12:36 Protestantism, 500 years ago, a Roman Catholic priest, 12:41 I'm not saying anything against Catholics, 12:43 the heroes of this story they're all Roman Catholics, 12:47 Protestants reformers, Roman Catholics. 12:51 Five hundred years ago a Roman Catholic priest 12:54 nailed his 95 theses 12:56 to the door of a Roman Catholic Church, 13:00 he had some courage. 13:04 He started a revolution that released a tidal wave 13:07 of freedom, life, and prosperity 13:10 around the world. 13:11 And I have a question for you, 13:14 and I've got a question 13:15 for the television audience, here it is. 13:19 Are you a Protestant or are you a Roman Catholic? 13:25 Now I'm going to tell you how you can find out. 13:28 I got a number of questions here. 13:30 Number one, "I believe in the final authority of Scripture, 13:36 not a church committee and not the pope." 13:40 I believe in the final authority of Scripture, 13:42 not a church committee or the pope. 13:44 If you say, "No, I can't believe that", 13:47 then you're a Catholic. 13:48 But if you say, yes, you're a Protestant, you see? 13:52 Now question number two. 13:55 You can see it on the screen. 13:57 "I believe all doctrine must be based on the Bible alone, 14:00 not on other writings. 14:02 If you say yes to that, I believe in the Bible alone, 14:07 you're a Protestant. 14:09 If you say, no, you're a Catholic. 14:12 Number three, "I believe that religious hierarchies..." 14:15 This gets me into trouble in my own church. 14:18 "I believe that religious hierarchies are basically 14:21 Roman Catholic in nature, and often make mistakes. 14:26 If you say, "No, no, I can't believe that," 14:29 then you're a Catholic. 14:30 But if you say, "Yes, I believe that," 14:34 then you're a Protestant. 14:35 Number four, "I believe I'm saved only by Jesus, 14:40 not good works done in me by the Holy Spirit." 14:43 If you say yes, you are a Protestant. 14:47 Number five, "I believe I have direct access to God 14:52 without a priest or a pastor." 14:55 If you say, no, no, I don't believe that, 14:59 well, that's because you're a Catholic. 15:01 But if you say, yes, I believe that, you're a Protestant. 15:04 Number six, "I believe I'm saved and safe 15:08 when I come to Christ in true faith." 15:11 Saved safe, justified, liberated, emancipated, 15:17 on my way to glory, going direct to Amazon, see? 15:23 Don't have to go to the mall. 15:27 Don't have to negotiate for bargains. 15:29 And if you say, I believe I'm saved and safe 15:32 when I come to Christ in true faith, 15:34 then you're a Protestant. 15:36 Number seven, "I believe the church cannot take my name 15:40 out of the Book of Life." 15:42 Oh, I know some Protestants would say, 15:44 no, no, if I give this fellow a membership 15:46 because I disagree with somebody 15:48 then I'm gonna go to hell 15:49 'cause the church can do that, that's nonsense. 15:53 No, no, no, I believe the church cannot take my name 15:58 out of the Book of Life, yes. 16:00 I'm a Protestant. 16:02 Number eight, "When my conscience conflicts 16:05 with my church," including my own Protestant church, 16:10 "I must disobey the church and follow my conscience." 16:14 I say, yes, you see? 16:17 Now I know lots of folks in my church they say, 16:21 "No, no, no, I'm concerned about my job, 16:26 so I've got to say no." 16:28 I say, when my conscience conflicts with the church, 16:32 I must disobey my church and follow my conscience. 16:36 Yes, yes. 16:40 Number nine, I believe the real reason the church exists 16:45 is not to sit around and waste time 16:46 with heaps of committees 16:49 because after people spend so much time 16:51 in their committees nothing has been accomplished 16:54 except that they feel good. 16:57 They think they've done something, they have. 17:00 They wasted their own time and the Lord's time. 17:03 Listen, I believe the real reason the church exists 17:07 is to preach the Gospel of Christ. 17:09 Yes, that's what a Protestant says. 17:11 Number ten, "I believe my first loyalty is to God, 17:16 not the church organization." 17:18 No, says the Catholic. 17:22 The church organization first, it is divinely inspired. 17:27 That's the teaching of the papacy. 17:33 I believe my first loyalty is to God, 17:36 not the church organization. 17:37 Yes. 17:40 And if you can say yes to all of those things, 17:43 you're a Protestant. 17:45 And you're part of the Holy Spirit 17:47 anointed movement of divine destiny. 17:49 Protestantism is the original Christian religion. 17:54 Lost for more than a thousand years 17:56 but now restored. 17:58 It is the wave of the future, it is marching on to glory. 18:05 You see? 18:07 And you may know some poor little Protestant Church 18:10 in America or Australia that's dying. 18:14 That's probably those people in that church 18:18 are Catholic Protestants. 18:21 They don't know what they believe, 18:22 they've got no conviction, 18:24 they've got no fire in their bellies, 18:26 they're lazy, you see? 18:30 But I want you to know that the true Protestant Church 18:32 is marching home to glory, hallelujah! 18:36 Now let me give you a text, 18:37 Revelation 7:9, 10 and bit more. 18:42 Revelation 7:9, "After these things 18:46 I looked and behold, 18:48 a great multitude which no one could number, 18:52 of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, 18:55 standing before the throne and before the Lamb, 18:59 clothed with white robes, 19:01 with palm branches in their hands, 19:04 and crying out with a loud voice, 19:05 saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God 19:09 who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" Christ. 19:14 "Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, 19:17 'Who are these arrayed in white robes," you see? 19:21 They're justified. Who are they? 19:23 "Where did they come from? 19:24 I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' 19:26 So he said to me, 'These are the ones 19:28 who came out of the great tribulation, 19:31 and washed their robes 19:33 and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'" 19:35 They are true Protestants. 19:38 You know why? 19:39 'Cause they're washed in the blood of the Lamb. 19:41 They go directly to Christ for salvation. 19:45 They have a personal experience with Christ. 19:47 You see, Catholicism emphasizes the glory of the church 19:53 and the infallibility of the pontiff. 19:57 Protestantism emphasizes not the glory of the church, 20:01 but the glory of the Christ, you see, 20:04 and the fallibility of all earthly committees 20:11 and earthly people. 20:15 So don't you get it out of your heads 20:17 if you want to be saved. 20:19 Sola Christus, only Christ. 20:21 Sola scriptura, only scripture. 20:24 Sola gratia, only grace. 20:27 Can't you hear, Luther? 20:29 Sola fide, only faith. 20:33 We're not saved by faith and works, 20:35 we're saved by our faith that works. 20:39 You see, you get it. 20:44 So it's marching home to glory. 20:47 Millions in the Roman Catholic countries of Latin America 20:50 are leaving the Church of Rome 20:52 and joining the Church of Jesus. 20:54 In 1970, there were 23 million Protestants in Latin America, 20:58 they're now up to 2015, 121 million Protestants. 21:04 Now, I have been to El Salvador, 21:10 a Roman Catholic country, full of crime, full of drugs, 21:16 full of violence, and full of darkness, 21:22 but God is not dead in El Salvador. 21:25 I want you to see the people who came to the meetings. 21:28 We hired 765 busses to bring the people. 21:35 Here they, look at the stadium, 21:37 it is the biggest stadium in Central America, 21:41 the biggest crowd 21:43 in the history of the football stadium 21:44 and those folks are crazy for football. 21:47 But I want to tell you 21:49 there's something stronger than football, 21:51 it is Sola Christus, only Christ, Sola scriptura, 21:56 sola gratia, sola fide, this is what we preach there. 22:01 In one day, we saw 5,000, 22:05 many Roman Catholics baptized. 22:08 The vice president of the nation said to me, 22:11 this is what El Salvador needs, 22:13 that Protestant gospel because that liberates people. 22:18 It lifts people up, it redeems people, you see. 22:24 So I'm a Protestant, I guess you can work that out by now. 22:28 I'm on the winning side. 22:30 My beloved dad was a strong Roman Catholic. 22:35 His father and mother were strong Roman Catholics, 22:38 his mother came from Tipperary. 22:40 And his father came from England, 22:42 but he was a Catholic too. 22:44 As a boy, my dear old dad all he knew was the church, 22:49 many beatings were his mistakes, 22:52 he was an altar boy in the church. 22:57 Well, I knew him growing up, I saw he had no peace, no joy, 23:02 he knew the math and Latin, but he never read the Bible, 23:06 he didn't know what it was. 23:10 He lived in fear of hell, 23:13 until he found the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. 23:17 He started to read his Bible, 23:20 he found hope, and faith, and joy 23:24 and was baptized as a Protestant Adventist. 23:30 He died with the certainty of the resurrection. 23:34 He died believing in only Christ, only scripture, 23:38 only grace, only faith, 23:41 I could have been a Catholic priest, 23:46 but with the help of my mother who was a strong Protestant, 23:50 I found the true gospel. 23:54 And today, I thank God that first and foremost, 24:01 I am a Christian, that's my religion. 24:06 And secondly, I thank God 24:09 that I am a Protestant. 24:14 And thirdly, thirdly, 24:18 I am an Adventist. 24:22 And in that order, and if you get it wrong, 24:25 you won't be a Christian, you won't be a Protestant, 24:27 you won't be anything, 24:31 except a very unhappy person. 24:34 And today, I'm going to do something 24:36 as we wind up this program. 24:39 I'm going to dedicate this program 24:40 to my mom and my dad, 24:44 to James and Jean Carter. 24:48 This old man who died 24:51 with his faith in Christ as a true Protestant, 24:55 no longer fearing the flame, 25:00 and I dedicated to my mother 25:05 'cause she is with my two sisters. 25:08 And there she was when she was 97 years of age 25:13 going strong, reading the Bible, 25:16 and giving me a hard time. 25:23 So I dedicate the program to them. 25:26 My mother, a great Protestant 25:32 who understood the prophecies of the Bible, 25:35 who taught me to love the Bible 25:40 and to hate the antichrist, 25:44 and to be true to the faith of my fathers. 25:49 And so it is with joy today 25:55 that I dedicate this program on Protestantism 26:00 to my mother and to my father 26:05 whom one day soon in glory, 26:08 I shall see again because Christ is the way, 26:14 the truth, and the life, amen. 26:30 This is my 43rd visit... 26:36 to preach the everlasting gospel 26:39 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 26:51 And they had smoke bombs and they had fire bombs, 26:54 and the Russian army had to take me to the meetings. 27:00 I come here, my friend, because of the need. 27:03 These were days of grace and glory, and mighty power. 27:09 For a donation of $100 or more, 27:12 a signed copy of the John Carter biography 27:14 can be yours by writing to us at the address on the screen 27:17 or visit our website. 27:27 The word began in a village, 27:30 churches and schools sprang up and multiplied, 27:35 reaching into the city. 27:38 Great truths revealed to the people of Papua New Guinea 27:43 changing thousands of lives. 27:46 Our eyes are going to be opened 27:49 to the discovery of amazing truths. 27:53 The greatest truth in the Bible, 27:55 it is the truth that God loves you. 27:58 It has completely changed my life, 28:00 and I'm going to be baptized this Sabbath. 28:02 Pastor Carter has put something in my heart 28:05 that I will never forget. 28:06 Thank you Pastor Carter for your program, 28:08 it has changed my life completely. 28:11 John Carter's "Great Truths Revealed" 28:13 was recorded live from Papua New Guinea. 28:15 Experience the miracles in this 21 DVD series 28:18 for a gift of $150 US or $210 Australian. 28:23 To order, visit our website or call. 28:28 For a copy today's program, 28:30 please contact us at PO Box 1900, 28:34 Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 28:38 Or in Australia, contact us at PO Box 861, 28:43 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:47 This program is made possible 28:49 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:52 We thank you for your continued support. 28:55 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2018-03-07