In the beginning of the Reformation, many of God’s people came out of Catholicism because they wanted to be freed from its fornication and idolatry. But their reformation was fueled by political power. In their ignorance they accepted the help of outside power. By setting up new churches, they repeated the mistake of the Roman Catholic Church. In Catholicism we find a church where politics and religion are married. In setting up their own churches, the Protestants also combined politics with religion.
If the believers who left the Roman Catholic Church had turned back to the New Testament, they would have seen that the church is God’s people and that it is a society that does not derive its support from anyone. But their light was not strong enough. Many forces around them tried to take advantage of them. As a result, they formed the so-called state churches. The believers in Germany formed the German state church, and all German citizens became members of this church. In England there was the Anglican Church. Anyone born in England was qualified to be baptized by an Anglican priest. According to the definition of the state church, the boundary of the church is the boundary of the state. Not only are believers included in the church, but all the citizens of the land are qualified to be baptized in the church as well. In name, the state church is living. Actually, it is dead. This is how the state churches came into being.
Protestantism is characterized by a mixture of the world with the church. Prior to this, the mixture was universal; then it became localized country by country. Originally, the Roman Catholic Church ruled the entire world. Then independent churches sprang up in each country, and every country had its own church. The church became identified with God’s people as well as those who were not His people; it became mixed. In name it is living, and yet it is dead! This is the condition of Protestantism.
Of course, this did not stop Protestantism from producing many great men. Many truly great spiritual men who were much used by God were found in Protestantism. This is why the Lord said, “But you have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white because they are worthy” (3:4). This is the history and characteristic of Protestantism. On the one hand, it is living and yet dead. On the other hand, it produced many great spiritual men. Yet these men were all individuals; they were not a corporate man. Sardis has “a few names.” There are always a few here and a few there. This is the characteristic of Protestantism.
The history of Protestantism began with the state churches. Later we see the development of independent churches through the so-called dissenters (those who held different opinions from the state churches). They began to realize that many joined the state churches through their so-called “baptism,” not through faith. A man did not become a believer through faith but through baptism. Believers were not produced out of faith but out of baptism. Many people were awakened to this error in the state churches. They believed that a man becomes a child of God only after he believes in Him.
Some of them began to pay particular attention to certain new truths that they discovered. The state churches had no serious intention of doing anything except maintaining their state organizations; they were not serious about serving the Lord. God began to raise men up, a few here or a group there. They began to discover certain truths and condemn certain practices. They began the so-called independent churches or dissenting churches, churches which held different opinions. They suffered much persecution and opposition. The story of John Bunyan is one example of such persecution. There was also the persecution of the Presbyterians in Scotland. The Puritans set sail for America because of persecution. Among such men were John Wesley, George Whitefield, and their groups. God would raise up a person here or there and show him some special truths. He would stand up to condemn certain practices and dissociate himself from these sins. As a result, some separated themselves from the state churches.