Isaiah 30:1-2 ESV
“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord,
“who carry out a plan, but not mine,
and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit,
that they may add sin to sin;
who set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking for my direction,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!”
What plans are Christians (or professing Christians) today
stubbornly carrying out which are not God’s and/or which are against God’s
plans? And what alliances (partnerships) are Christians (individually) and the
church making today that are not by God’s Spirit and/or are against God’s Spirit?
In particular, what plans are they carrying out and which alliances
are they making so that they “may add sin to sin”?
Turning the Church into a Business
Well, the church overall, at least here in America,
partnered with the US government by incorporating under the state as a not-for-profit
organization (business). So, they invited the government into the church.
Then, they began teaching government worship, via the pledge
(vow) of allegiance (fidelity) to our government, via the singing of patriotic
(worshipful) songs, and via the honoring of our military as our heroes who they
say are the ones protecting our freedoms and who are keeping us safe.
They also turned the church into a marketplace, and across
denominations they pretty much all began following the same business model for
how to grow their “churches” (businesses). Thus, pastors began going through
business training and they began using marketing books like a Bible.
Since their target audience was the people of the world,
often the younger generations, and often those without much biblical knowledge,
they began changing (altering) the gatherings of the church to make them
appealing and attractive to the world so that the world would feel at home in
the gatherings of “the church.”
So, pastors often turned into clowns, actors, and
entertainers in order to attract the people of the world to “the church.” And worship
services were more often turned into stage productions to draw in large crowds
of people from the world, thus they tried to look and to sound like the world.
Therefore, since their goal now was to draw in large crowds
of people from the world, using worldly means and methods, they also altered
(diluted) the gospel of Jesus Christ to make it more appealing and acceptable
to the people of the world and to human flesh.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ
The gospel of our salvation, as taught by Jesus Christ and
by his New Testament apostles, teaches a faith in Jesus Christ which submits to
the Lordship of Christ over our lives, which surrenders our lives to Christ,
which dies with him to sin, and which is resurrected with Christ to newness of
life in Christ, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
The true gospel teaches that faith in Jesus means we are
crucified with Christ in death to sin that we might live to Christ and to his
righteousness. It teaches that, through faith in Jesus Christ, we are delivered
from our slavery to sin that we might now be slaves of God and of his righteousness.
It teaches that we must forsake our former lives of living
for sin and self and that we must now walk in obedience to our Lord and to his
commands (New Covenant).
And it teaches that we must now walk (in conduct, in
practice) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. For, we
died with Christ to sin, so how can we live in it any longer?
As well, it teaches that if we continue walking (living) in
sin (in practice) and if we are not making obedience to our Lord our practice, but
if we say we know God, or that we are in fellowship with him, that we are liars
who do not live by the truth.
And it teaches that those who deliberately make sin their
practice (habit), and who are not walking in obedience to the Lord, that they
will die in their sins. They will not inherit eternal life with God, even if
they have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph
4:17-32; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Rom 12:1-2; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15,
21; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10]
Adulterating the Gospel of Christ
Nonetheless, such teachings as mentioned above, which come
from the Scriptures, in context, are not appealing or acceptable to human flesh
or to the people of the world, for the message of the cross is foolishness to
those who are perishing, and the message of the cross is an offense to them.
So, the flesh-driven and market-driven church of today,
following after their business models, changed the gospel. They removed the
offensive parts so that what they teach is a half-truth (lie) gospel, and not
the whole counsel of God as Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles taught.
Most of them teach that Jesus died to forgive us our sins,
and that he was resurrected from the dead, and that he is going to come back
one day to take his own to be with him for eternity. But not many of them are
teaching that we must die with Christ to sin, be delivered from our slavery to
sin, and now live as slaves of God and of his righteousness.
Instead, they are teaching that a mere profession of faith
in Jesus Christ forgives all their sins and it guarantees them heaven as their
eternal destiny regardless of how they live their lives while they are still on
this earth.
Many are now going so far as to teach that we are NOT to
submit to Christ as Lord, that we are NOT to obey him and his commands (New
Covenant), and that we are NOT to repent of our sins. For, they claim that all
of that is works-based salvation (or Lordship salvation).
And so, there are many people professing faith in Jesus
Christ who are living no different from those who make no profession of faith
in Christ, so that it is barely distinguishable between those who claim to be
Christians and those who don’t. And the church, overall, has become very
worldly.
Isaiah 30:3-5 ESV
Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame,
and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.
For though his officials are at Zoan
and his envoys reach Hanes,
everyone comes to shame
through a people that cannot profit them,
that brings neither help nor profit,
but shame and disgrace.”
Servant
of the Lord
An
Original Work / July 26, 2012
Based
off Romans 1:1-17
Servant of the Lord;
For the gospel you’re set apart.
Promised through the prophets of old:
Jesus, Son of God.
Through Him, and for His name alone,
We receive His grace
To call people, Him to obey;
Coming from their faith.
Servant of the Lord,
For the gospel you’re set apart.
Promised through the prophets of old:
Jesus, Son of God.
You belong to Christ;
Loved by God, and called to be saints;
Serving God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching Jesus Christ;
Always praying for others’ needs;
Helping hand to lend;
Giving courage to others’ faith,
For the praise of God.
You belong to Christ;
Loved by God, and called to be saints;
Serving God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching Jesus Christ.
Servant of the Lord;
Of the gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For salvation, power of God
To those who have faith.
In the gospel find righteousness:
Being right with God.
Turn from sin, and trust Jesus Christ.
By faith, live in Him.
Servant of the Lord;
Of the gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For salvation, power of God
To those who have faith.
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