Author: Jason

“I feel called.” We’ve all said it—or felt it. But the apostles never stopped at feelings. Paul always pointed to Scripture: “It is written.”
What if our sincerest convictions need testing against God’s timeless order? From cultural pressures to pragmatic shortcuts, churches quietly drift—prioritizing experience over divine design.
Ahead: a gentle, historical look at how this happened, key texts unpacked (Eph. 4; 1 Tim. 2), and biblical steps to realign every call with God’s full counsel.
Let’s move from feeling to Scripture—boldly, humbly, together.

In the last 50 years, major Protestant bodies—Lutherans, Reformed, Methodists, Anglicans—have signed documents that whisper:

“We agree on justification… mostly.”
“We recognize each other’s baptisms… sort of.”
“We’re all climbing the same mountain to the same God.”

That is not unity. That is absorption.
On the surface: “We agree that salvation is by grace through faith.”
Underneath: “Works are the fruit of faith… and necessary for final salvation.”
Wait—necessary?
That is Trent, Session VI, Canon 24—anathema to every Reformer who ever lived.
Luther would have burned the document.
Calvin would have called it “a perfumed poison.”
But today? It’s taught in seminaries as “progress.”

St. Alphonsus Liguori claimed in The Dignity of the Priest that priests are “creators of the Creator” through consecration. The procession elevated clergy as essential channels—burdening laity with dependence, akin to Shinto priests mediating kami blessings.

The Freedom: God alone creates (Isaiah 44:24); Christ mediates solo (1 Timothy 2:5). Ministers proclaim, not produce, God. Approach Him directly (Hebrews 4:16), free from hierarchical chains.

A Call to Rest: From Burden to Bold Freedom

Beloved friends in the procession’s crowds or Shinto’s shadows, your seeking honors God—but lay down the weights. Your desire for holiness honors Him, but the path to rest is open now, without a mediator or a cycle of works. Jesus invites: “Take my yoke upon you… for my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).