Dangerous Practices
If we are not fully grounded in the Truth of God’s Word we are destined to follow the well beaten path of millions of professed followers of Jesus Christ right into the lake of fire! Matt. 7:22-23 “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” These people believe they are Christians. They are even doing works in the name of Jesus. But the Lord says they are not His. No one wants to hear these words on Judgment Day, but Jesus says many will.
Though some do, most do not set out with the deliberate intention to become a false believer or teacher. They usually drift into it by diluting the Word of God over time, as they accept and adopt more and more of the world’s beliefs and ways.
Each week the newspapers are full of stories about divisions, controversies and splits in churches and denominations over some of the most ungodly, unbiblical things imaginable. The range is everything from accepting homosexual marriage and ordination, to new age and occult beliefs and practices. The problem is the Bible has no authority in their lives. If these people would learn and believe what the Bible clearly says, these kinds of things would not even be up for debate.
God’s Word is very clear on all the subjects that plague the modern church, but she refuses to believe and obey it. The stories we read are not just isolated incidents. Quite the contrary; they represent where the vast majority of churches are headed with their “Seeker Sensitive Services,” “Easy Believism,” “Tolerance,” and “Everybody Welcomed” approach. Not to mention the venomous “Word-Faith Movement,” AKA the “Prosperity Gospel” or “Health & Wealth Gospel.”
Many church leaders have, to one degree or another, bought into the heresies of the TV preachers of the Word-Faith movement. This satanically inspired perversion of God’s Word is subtly finding its way into churches everywhere. Traces of it can be found in the beliefs of many professing Christians, while many others have bought into the whole package.
Many churches are also giving way to an entertainment based religion modeled after the world. They flood their calendars with concerts, fun nights, carnivals, dances, dinners and other such parties, all under the pretense of worshiping God or in the name of “fellowship.”
Through these type events they fill their extravagant buildings with people looking for some good clean fun. All this is done with the supposed intention of preaching the gospel to them. But all too often right the opposite occurs. The unbelievers “join” their church, never truly being born again, and thereby contribute to the demise of the church by bringing in the world’s ideas and ways. Once enough of these false converts join the church and gain “voting rights” it is inevitable that church programs and policies begin to reflect the world from which they came. This “new majority” will not tolerate the teaching of sound biblical doctrine. In time they will remove all but those leaders who will give them what they want. 2 Tim. 4:3-4 “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
Many churches have succumbed to commercialization. They are under the false assumption that in order for the Church to be “relevant” and to attract new members, they must appeal to the “felt needs” and worldly desires of the masses. They become “consumer driven.” As a result, many preachers today are nothing more than self-help gurus peddling pop-psychology. They refuse to preach the hard Truth of God’s Holy Word because it offends people and cuts into the cash flow. They will stop at nothing in order to gain a larger crowd. They employ such tactics as advertising gimmicks, door prizes, feel-good messages, entertainment events, and promises of health and prosperity.
On the other hand, God’s true ministers say, “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God” (2Cor. 2:17).
Of course if these churches were to hear me say all this they would quickly accuse me of being judgmental, self-righteous and divisive. You may even be one of them. But let me tell you this: I am not judging you or them. God’s Word has already judged the hypocrite and the apostate church. “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day” (John 12:47-48). God minces no words by referring to the apostate church as the “Great Prostitute” (Rev. 17:1; 19:2).
Don’t be deceived. It’s not just the cult groups that are a part of the apostate church. Apostate means departed from the truth. Therefore, any church or individual that has left the truth of the Word of God is part of the prophesied apostate church.
I pray that you are beginning to see the vital importance of learning and holding fast the Truth of God’s Word. This is not a game! Jesus, the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all creation will judge and condemn the world when He returns in blazing glory! Those who choose a comfort zone religion masquerading as Christianity will receive a rude awakening on the day Christ comes for His Bride. The modern church fits very well the description of the church at Laodicea in Rev. 3:14-22, and Jesus calls out to her to repent!
Though I cannot force anything on anyone else, I for one do not intend to be in the group that hears Jesus say, “I never knew you.” And I do not intend to be held accountable for those I have preached to by feeding them any less than the full Gospel of Jesus Christ, Lord of the Universe, Judge and Savior of mankind!
The prophets warned Israel about the same kind of idolatry and rebellion we see in much of the church today. Jesus sharply rebuked the Jews of His day for their traditional and hypocritical version of religion, which looks strikingly similar to what is called Christianity today. And the apostles warned the early church of their acceptance of heretical teachings and the mixing of the world’s practices into the church, especially such as are found in “liberal branches” of Christianity. Can we not see that we are guilty of the very same sins today that our forefathers were guilty of?
I’m not so naive as to think that the church can ever be rid of all false converts and false teachers, in fact, God tells us it will not be. But God commands those who are genuine, God called leaders and shepherds of His people to warn them and teach against such behavior and lies. This gives them an opportunity to repent. Every church leader should study carefully Ezek. 33 and 1st and 2nd Timothy, as we are the watchmen of God’s flock.
Many of you will find the things I’ve said highly offensive and will want to condemn me. But before you do, I would ask one thing of you. Go to God in sincere prayer, then go to your Bible, and honestly examine the condition of the church today, as well as your own heart and life. If you can honestly say that we are not guilty of the very things that the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles warned our forefathers about, then feel free to lash out at me all you want. But if you are brutally honest and open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit you will see that we are in just as desperate a condition as the people of God have ever been.
Paul said to the religious people of his day, “Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Rom. 2:16-24).
Please, join me in praying the Lord will grant us genuine revival, which begins with an awakening to the true condition of the church today, followed by heartfelt conviction and repentance. Then we can offer acceptable worship to the Lord and bring glory to His Holy Name rather than blasphemy.
