What do Protestants believe?

Protestant churches confess one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and they treat the Bible as the rule of faith and life. They are Christians. They are not one denomination, and they do not receive the pope as head of the church.

Key points

• The Westminster Confession of Faith, 2.3 (1) says, “In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.”
• Westminster 1.6 (1) says the whole counsel of God for salvation is set down in Scripture or deduced from it, “unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.”
• The Augsburg Confession, Article IV (2) says people “are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith,” and that “God counts this faith for righteousness in His sight.”
• The Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 60 (5) says a person is righteous before God “only by true faith in Jesus Christ,” and “out of sheer grace.”
• Westminster 25.6 (1) says, “There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the pope of Rome, in any sense, be head thereof.”
• The Baptist Faith and Message, Article I (8) says Scripture “is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.”
• The United Methodist Articles of Religion, Article IX (9) says, “We are accounted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings.”

Are Protestants a denomination?

No. On this site a denomination is one shelf, such as Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, or Pentecostal. Protestant is the family name for those shelves together. They share the Reformation sentences below. They do not share one church government or one confession.

The Augsburg Confession, Article VII (3) says what its churches require for unity:

Our churches teach that one holy Church is to remain forever. The Church is the congregation of saints in which the Gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments are correctly administered. For the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree about the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. It is not necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies instituted by men, should be the same everywhere.

Westminster 25.1 (1) uses the word catholic for the whole church, not as a second religion: “The catholic or universal church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the Head thereof.”

The Anglican Article XIX (7) defines the visible church as “a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ’s ordinance.” The same article says “the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of Ceremonies, but also in matters of Faith.”

What is the Protestant view of Jesus?

These confessions say Jesus is God the Son, truly human, and the only mediator.

Westminster 2.3 (1):

In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost: the Father is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.

The Anglican Article II (7) says the Son, “begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took Man’s nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance,” so that he is “one Christ, very God, and very Man.”

The Baptist Faith and Message, Article II (8) says, “The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.”

That is the same confession the Catechism of the Catholic Church (11) prints as the Nicene Creed: “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.” The disagreement is not whether Jesus is God. Is Jesus God? and The Trinity state that confession with the passages.

John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.King James Version (13), King James Version: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.King James Version (14): “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.” Matthew 28:19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:King James Version (15) names “the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Scripture, faith, and Christ

Readers call five Reformation sentences the solas: Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and glory to God alone. Those five labels are not a heading in the confessions fetched here. The sentences are.

Westminster 1.6 (1) is the Scripture sentence:

The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.

Westminster 1.10 (1) names the judge of controversies: “the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture.” Westminster 1.3 (1) says the books commonly called Apocrypha “are no part of the canon of the Scripture.” The book lists are in What Bible do Catholics use? and What is the Apocrypha?.

The Belgic Confession, Article 7 (6) says Scripture “contains the will of God completely and that everything one must believe to be saved is sufficiently taught in it,” and that “we must not consider human writings—no matter how holy their authors may have been—equal to the divine writings.”

The Anglican Article VI (7) says, “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 82 (10) states the other claim: the Church “does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.” Catholic vs Protestant puts those two sentences side by side.

2 Timothy 3:16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:King James Version (20): “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

On justification, Augsburg IV (2):

Our churches teach that people cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works. People are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. By His death, Christ made satisfaction for our sins. God counts this faith for righteousness in His sight.

Westminster 11.1 (1) says God justifies “not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous,” “by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ unto them.” Westminster 11.2 (1) says faith “is the alone instrument of justification,” and that this faith “is no dead faith, but worketh by love.”

The Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 60 (5):

Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments, of never having kept any of them, and of still being inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without any merit of my own, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, and as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. All I need to do is accept this gift with a believing heart.

Ephesians 2:8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:King James Version (16): “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Romans 3:28Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.King James Version (17): “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” James 2:24Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.King James Version (18): “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” Churches that confess faith as the alone instrument still quote James. Westminster 11.2 says the faith that justifies works by love. The Catholic account of justification, which includes renewal of the interior person, is in What do Catholics believe?.

On Christ alone, Augsburg XXI (4) says, “Scripture sets before us the one Christ as the Mediator, Atoning Sacrifice, High Priest, and Intercessor. He is to be prayed to.” 1 Timothy 2:5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;King James Version (19): “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” What Catholics and the Orthodox say about asking Mary to pray is in What do Christians believe about Mary?.

Westminster 1.5 (1) says the scope of Scripture is “to give all glory to God.” That is the sentence readers label “to God alone be the glory.”

Westminster 27.4 (1) counts two sacraments “ordained by Christ our Lord in the Gospel; that is to say, baptism, and the Supper of the Lord.” The Catholic Church teaches seven. That contrast is in the comparison article.

Are all Protestants Calvinists?

No. Calvinist, in these texts, means the teaching of the Westminster Confession and the Canons of Dort, including the claim that those whom God has accepted in Christ cannot finally fall away. Methodist Article IX teaches justification by faith, and Article XII teaches a real fall.

The United Methodist Article XII (9) says, “After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and, by the grace of God, rise again and amend our lives.”

Can you lose your salvation? quotes Westminster, Dort, the Baptist Faith and Message, the Augsburg Confession, the Catechism, and the Methodist articles on that question. It does not choose a side. A person can be Protestant, confess justification by faith, and deny the Westminster account of perseverance. Baptist churches are themselves divided on that point, as that article shows.

The main families

Each row is a text fetched for this page, or a shelf that holds that body’s own documents. The Pentecostal shelf is included because those churches are in this Protestant family on this site. This page does not quote a Pentecostal confession.

Are Jehovah’s Witnesses or Latter-day Saints Protestant?

No. Protestant confessions fetched here confess that the Son is eternally of one substance with the Father. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Latter-day Saints are separate shelves on this site because their teaching of God is not that confession.

John 1 and the Word quotes the New World Translation of John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.King James Version. Are Mormons Christians? and Do Mormons believe in the Trinity? quote the Latter-day Saint texts. Those pages state the Christian claim. This page does not repeat them.

The Catechism, 818 (12) says of people born into communities separated from the Catholic Church, “All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians.” That sentence is the Catholic Church’s, about baptized Christians in separated communities. It is not a sentence about communities that deny the Trinity.

Frequently asked questions

Are Protestants Christian?

Yes. The confessions above confess the Nicene faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the Son’s death and resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus states that claim. A search for “Protestant vs Christian” usually means Protestant vs Catholic. Catholics are Christians too. Catholic vs Protestant is that comparison.

Is a Baptist a Protestant?

Yes, in the sense of this page. The Baptist Faith and Message makes Scripture the supreme standard and confesses the triune God. Baptists are not Lutherans or Presbyterians. They do not all teach the same thing about falling away. The Baptist shelf lists their own texts.

What do Protestants believe about the Bible?

Westminster, the Belgic Confession, Article VI, and the Baptist Faith and Message all say Scripture is the rule for faith. They do not add tradition as a second equal source. Which books they count is What is the Apocrypha?. Has the Bible been changed? answers a different claim, the claim that the text was corrupted.

What do Protestants believe about Catholics?

Article XIX says the Church of Rome has erred in matters of faith. Westminster 25.6 says the pope cannot be head of the church. Augsburg XXI says the Scriptures do not teach calling on the saints. The Catechism teaches Scripture and Tradition together, the pope as Peter’s successor, and devotion to Mary. Those texts are quoted in the comparison articles linked above. This page does not decide which account is true.

The churches on this site

• Catholic
• Lutheran
• Reformed
• Anglican
• Baptist
• Methodist
• Pentecostal
• Eastern Orthodox
• Christianity
• Denominations
• Catholic vs Protestant
• What do Catholics believe?
• Common arguments
• Charity in disagreement