Last night I was having a go-around with a guy in a Mennonite group who was condemning me for believing that I'm saved. It got me started thinking about some of the things that the Mennonites believe that aren't Scriptural and so I will make an effort to write what those things are and then point out what Scripture says. This will also include the answers God gave to me out of His Word when everyone was giving me their opinions and interpretation of what the Bible means, often with Scripture taken out of context. I hope you will read it with an open mind and that you will study the Scriptures for yourself especially if you don't agree. It's so easy to just go by what the leaders, preachers, teachers, parents and friends say. I have found the most comforting and reassuring thing is for the Lord to show me in His Word. So here goes...
~Mennonites (and Amish) for the most part (especially Old Order groups) do not believe that a person can know that they are saved.
They believe that a person can only hope to endure to the end and only then will a person know whether they're truly saved, when they get to heaven.
After I studied out what the Bible says about salvation I was trying to tell my mom that you can know you're saved and I mentioned Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and she said I'm not going there...
In case you're wondering for yourself, here's the Scriptures:
John 3:16-21
[16]For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
[17]For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
[18]He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
[19]And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
[20]For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
[21]But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
~Acts 2:21
[21]And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
~Acts 4:12
[12]Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
~Romans 10:9-13
[9]That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[10]For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
[11]For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
[12]For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
[13]For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
~1 Corinthians 1:18-24
[18]For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
[19]For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
[20]Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
[21]For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
[22]For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
[23]But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
[24]But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
~Ephesians 2:8-10
[8]For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
[9]Not of works, lest any man should boast.
[10]For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
~2 Timothy 1:8-9
[8]Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
[9]Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
~Titus 3:3-7
[3]For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
[4]But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
[5]Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
[6]Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
[7]That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
~1 John 1:5-10
[5]This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
[6]If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
[7]But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
[8]If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
[9]If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[10]If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
~1 John 2:12
[12]I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
~1 John 3:18-21
[18]My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
[19]And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
[20]For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
[21]Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
I know this is a long list but I can't just do a few, I want them all. They make my heart rejoice especially the last set. Nowhere can I find verses that tell us that as Christians we need to live in fear as though we had a sword hanging above our heads by a thread. Over and over I am reassured that I can have reassurance that I'm saved. Yes, of course there's Scriptures that we don't understand how they fit together and they seem contradicting, like the ones below which brings me to my next point:
~Hebrews 6:1-6
[1]Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
[2]Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
[3]And this will we do, if God permit.
[4]For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
[5]And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
[6]If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
I will say right off the bat that I do not completely understand what these verses are to mean exactly, I just know what these verses were used to speak against in the Mennonite church. I remember hearing the bishop quote these verses and then say we don't believe in rebaptizing. It is sin because by doing so we are crucifying Christ afresh. As a young person who couldn't stand to see other people hurt, I couldn't even fathom the horribleness of it.
It was a while after my initial studying that I thought about baptism and wondered what the Bible says about it. As I studied the Greek word and learned that it meant to be immersed I was so excited! I couldn't wait to get baptized the Bible way. After the excitement calmed down a bit I thought of the verses in Hebrews 6 that I mentioned above. (I wrote the whole story here: https://www.lighthopetruth.com/post/baptism ) It caused much confusion and I begged God to help me know the truth because I felt that being "sprinkled" was not true baptism (sprinkling was started by the Catholics in maybe the 1200's http://bebaptized.org/sprinkling.htm ). After a while I just dropped it because I couldn't find a way around it, only one morning to read this passage maybe a half year later:
Acts 19:1-7
[1]And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
[2]He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
[3]And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
[4]Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
[5]When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
[6]And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
[7]And all the men were about twelve.
It was like the lightbulb came on, very brightly. These men were baptized to what they knew which was John's baptism. I was also baptized to what I knew at the time. Then Paul came and taught them the way of truth more perfectly, and they were rebaptized. Now I knew much more truth than I did then and now I could go forward confidently, I no longer was confused but knew exactly what was required, little did I know it would go 2 years before it finally happened and I could rest knowing I had completed what God showed me in His Word.
~I remember even as a young child hearing the bishop say that we have the whole Bible but we are to especially do our best to live out Jesus's sermon on the mount which is Matthew 5-7 and Jesus's words(red letters).
Last night in my conversation with that Mennonite guy I mentioned in the beginning I was quoting verses from Paul's writings and he asked me if I follow Paul? He said I follow Jesus but apparently you follow Paul because that's who you're quoting. I thought of posting some of the things he said but its almost too confusing to make sense of. Scriptures to refute this are on order:
Isaiah 55:8-11
[8]For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
[9]For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
[10]For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
[11]So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Romans 15:4
[4]For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
[16]All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
[17]That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Matthew 5:17-20
[17]Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
[18]For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
[19]Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
[20]For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Revelation 22:18-19
[18]For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
[19]And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
All Scripture is the inspired Word of God. God is able to preserve His own Word and He said He would. His Word is truth and:
John 8:31-32,36
[31]Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
[32]And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
[36]If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
~Another thing that isn't Scriptural is making everyone dress one way(like cape dresses). God made us all different in personality and if He would have seen the need to give us a dress code He would have. Common verses used to back up the rules in this area are:
Deuteronomy 22:5
[5]The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
1 Timothy 2:9
[9]In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
1 Peter 3:3
[3]Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
These verses are used against women's pants, jewelry, makeup, and other things saying that these things are prideful. And the only verses they used to back that reasoning up that I can remember was:
1 John 2:15-16
[15]Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
[16]For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Despite what I was taught I was always fascinated by these passages:
Ezekiel 16:3-14
[3]And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.
[4]And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
[5]None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
[6]And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.
[7]I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.
[8]Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.
[9]Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
[10]I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
[11]I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
[12]And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
[13]Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
[14]And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
(I used to see God as my dad, always angry, just waiting for me to mess up so he could beat me up, distant, uncaring; during that time I would read the Bible seeking to understand who God really was with Isaiah 40-66 and this passage being my favorites because it spoke to me how much God cared for me even though I couldn't yet grasp it)
Exodus 3:22
[22]But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
Isaiah 61:10-11
[10]I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
[11]For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Malachi 3:16-17
[16]Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
[17]And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
One of my friends has written some articles along with her brother about things they were taught and lining it up with Scripture, some of these things which you can find here: bereanholiness.com/
When I started doing my own research and asking God to show me the truth in His Word, I began to see things in Scripture that I had never seen before. God opened my understanding to know His will. I saw that making everyone dress the same or dictating what colors were unbiblical. The only standards I could come up with was that it needs to be modest and not to be clothes specifically made for the opposite sex for that is an abomination to God. I personally know what feels modest to me and that I feel comfortable in and that's how I need to dress. If I do otherwise I will be doing it with the wrong motive which is sin and disobedience to God.
For those who believe that pants are wrong on women, have you researched history and culture to find out what kind of clothes were worn when Deuteronomy 22:5 was written? Have you researched the history on when the first pants were invented? What about the clothes that were worn in Jesus's day? How can we take Scripture and make it mean what we want it to say rather than take it in its simplicity and what it is really saying? (If you are comfortable with wearing only skirts or dresses, that is perfectly fine and good. That may be your conviction, but I only ask you to not judge others by their outward appearance for we don't know the whole story[I often catch myself doing this very thing and with the help of God I'm learning to look for the fruits of the Spirit instead], but it is God that sees the heart and only He is able to judge justly and right. We are to judge by the fruits and that does NOT mean what the outside looks like but rather by their attitude and the fruits of the Spirit.)
Culture in America since the first settlers (Indians not included) has been that men wore pants and women wore dresses until the feminist movement started in the 1900's. Have you ever researched what clothes other cultures wear and the history thereof; for example, Japan, China, Russia, India, etc? I've never studied them all but I've seen enough to know that not every country dresses like America. It can make some really interesting studies...
~Old Order Mennonite and Amish do not evangelize in any way, despite what Jesus said in:
Mark 16:15-16
[15]And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
[16]He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
I would often wonder when I would hear the bishop say that we are not to go on mission trips but rather to stay at home and work where we are because there's enough to do right where we are.
Even doing MDS work
(https://mds.mennonite.net/ ) was not well looked upon as it was seen more as a pleasure trip and sometimes people did sinful things and got punished by the church. In my understanding of Scripture they are teaching directly opposite of Jesus's words. I did read somewhere
or saw it in a video (https://youtu.be/biMh8WT3vnM )
but haven't been able to come up with documented facts yet that the early Anabaptist movement was almost destroyed by persecution and then they were asked to settle in Alsace France on conditions that they could live in peace as long as they don't proselytize.
~Have you ever wondered why the Mennonites and Amish have such peculiar appearances and ways? This verse is the basis for basically all of it:
1 John 2:15-16
[15]Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
[16]For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
This is why they drive horse and buggies. Vehicles are considered of the world. This is why for the most part that technology is shunned. It is of the world and sinful. This is why they wear darker colored clothes. Bright colors or big prints show pride and are considered the pride of the eyes. Travel on pleasure trips, rodeos, fairs, big hunting expeditions, theaters are all considered to be things that the world does and seeks after. They have herd and equipment control because they don't want to be like the world. I could go on for a while but hopefully this gives you a good picture of why they are like they are and how they think about some things. A lot of the rules began to be put in place and evolved over time as the secular society started to change in the late 1800's...
I hope you enjoyed this article and thanks for reading. If by any chance you have questions or comments feel free to reach out, howbeit respectfully. Hopefully it helps you understand the Mennonites and Amish better in some ways...
*The photo in the beginning is called a courting buggy. This one has the shafts missing. I think my parents had one when they were young married and I think that it may have gotten damaged at some point as I remember the top being missing but I remember the small seat and the lights and in the back was a small trunk-like space where you could lift the lid and store things inside. I didn't have much protection from the weather but if I remember right there was supposed to be like a weatherproof blanket that could be pulled up and snapped to the top though I don't remember how high up as they still had to be able to drive the horse. It's been years since I saw one but I still remember seeing and hearing about it somewhere in my past under 10 years old...