Isaiah 30:1-5 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!
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.”
What are God’s plans for us, his saints? We can read about
them in the New Testament books of the Bible (Matthew to Revelation). In
summary, they are that we might die with Christ to sin and live to God and to
his righteousness, in his power and strength, by the grace of God, and because
of Jesus’ blood sacrifice for us on that cross, which was to deliver us from
our slavery to sin, so we will no longer be slaves of sin, but so we’ll be
slaves of righteousness.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn
15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1
Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Gal
5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal
6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb
10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Rev. 2-3; Rev
18:1-6; Rev 21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15]
So, if the children of God today who are believing in Jesus
Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives, and/or those who are professing
faith in Jesus Christ, carry out plans not of God, and they make an alliance,
but not by His Spirit, that they may add sin to sin, and so they take refuge in
the protection of a foreign entity, and not in God, what would that look like
today?
Do you realize that this is exactly what is taking place in
the vast majority of what is called “church” here in the USA? Let’s take a look
at how that is being carried out by the majority of “the church” here in
America.
A Plan Not of God
I can’t say for certain when this all began, so I am going
to speak of what I know in my lifetime which began 6 hours before New Years Day
1950. The church gathering I attended up until age 27, which is the one my parents
attended all 86 years of their lives, was not a church denomination until 1974,
but I don’t recall anything changing then, but I was gone from the church by
1977, for my husband went to Bible College at that time.
Anyway, my experience with that church congregation was that
they followed the Scriptures, that they taught holy living, obedience, submission
to God, the forsaking of our sins, repentance, sanctification, divine healing, and
the gifts of the Spirit, etc. It is the same church denomination that A.W.
Tozer was a pastor in for many years. Tozer is a very famous author who died in
1963, and he taught much on holiness and godliness.
Tozer also talked about the same types of things I am going
to address here, and he wrote about these types of things in the 1940s. One of
my favorite’s of his writings was “The Old Cross and The New” (1). It was first
published in 1946, I believe. So, Tozer was seeing this “shift” in the church
back in the 1940s, but I didn’t really see it until 1999. And that is when I
first was introduced to the teachings of Rick Warren and his “Purpose Driven”
books.
Backing up a little, in 1954 former Senator L.B. Johnson
introduced a new tax exemption for the church called the 501c3 not-for-profit. Yet,
it wasn’t necessary because the church in America was already tax exempt. But
what this did was unite the church in an unholy union with the state, for now
much of today’s church is under this 501c3, so they are incorporated as a
not-for-profit business under the state. So they are now a state church.
In 1954 I began school. And in our school and in the church,
too, was the American flag, and we were taught to pledge (vow) our allegiance
(worship) to the US government with hand over heart, which we did religiously.
We were also taught, in school and in the church, to sing patriotic songs of
worship to our nation and to our form of government. And we honored our
military as our heroes who were keeping us safe from harm.
So, now the church had become officially a corporation under
the state, and we were being taught government worship in the church, although
I did not recognize it as such until much later in my life. And our military
were considered to be our “saviors” who were protecting us and keeping us free.
So, from age 4 on up I was being indoctrinated and brainwashed to give some of
my worship to my government and to their military arm.
Now to the Present
So, the vast majority of what is called “church” in America
is a business incorporated under the state which is operating the church just
like any other secular business with the goal to draw in large crowds of people
from the world into their gatherings. And so they do what the marketing books
tell them to do on how to attract the world to their gatherings, and on what to
do to keep the world coming back to their gatherings.
So, “worship services” have now been altered to attract the
world. And so they have become largely about entertainment and having talented
musicians play and sing, regardless of whether or not they truly are
Christians, and regardless of whether or not they are actually walking in
purity of devotion to the Lord. And the same applies to pastors. And pastors
have largely become entertainers and comedians and salesmen.
Since “the church” is now trying to attract the world to
their gatherings, so that the world will be comfortable in their gatherings,
and so they will feel at home, and so they will not be offended by the gospel,
and will not feel judged by the church, “the church” has also altered the gospel
to make it more attractive, appealing, and acceptable to the world, i.e. to the
flesh of man (of humans), i.e. so that they may “add sin to sin.”
For, the popular gospel message today, which is permeating
the American church, for the most part, EXCLUDES biblical repentance (turning
away from sin), obedience to Christ and to his commands, and submission to
Christ as Lord (Owner-Master) of their lives. For, that offends people, and it
makes them feel judged and uncomfortable. So, they have diluted the message to
just saying some words so that one can be saved and go to heaven.
So, what this means is that they are giving their adherents
carte blanche to continue living in deliberate and habitual sin, to not have to
obey the Lord or his commands (New Covenant), and to not have to honor God as
the holy God that he is. They feel that they can just “believe” (of the flesh)
and have their sins forgiven (past, present, and future) and that heaven is
guaranteed them when they die, regardless of how they live their lives on the
earth.
So, they are “Babylon,” which God is saying to us to come
out from among her so that we don’t share in her sins and in her punishment,
for her sins are piled high to heaven (Rev 18:1-6). For the church is the body
of Christ, not the corporation, with Christ as her head, not the government,
and with the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit as her teachers, not marketing
books and books written by men who are not following the counsel of God.
Glorious
Grace
An Original Work / August 8, 2012
Based
off Ephesians 1:3-10 NIV
Praise be to God, the Father of Jesus,
Who has blessed us in heavenly realms.
For He chose us in Him from beginning
To be His holy children of God;
All in accord with His will and pleasure;
To the praise of His glorious grace.
In Jesus Christ we receive forgiveness.
We have redemption through His shed blood.
Glorious grace God freely has given us
In the One He loves and adores;
All in accord with the riches of His grace
Which He pours out on those He loves.
With all His wisdom and understanding,
God has made known His will unto us,
According to His will and good pleasure,
Purposed in Christ till all be fulfilled;
To bring all things on earth and in heaven
Under our Lord Christ; be unified.
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