2 Corinthians 11:1-4 ESV
“I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.”
The Church Marketed to the World
What does this look like in the church (or in what is
falsely called church) in America today, or in your nation? Since I only know
America, that is what I will speak of, but if you are from another nation, I
pray you will apply this to where it fits with your nation, as well.
In America, within the gatherings of the church, overall,
though not necessarily representative of every church gathering, and which
constitutes all that is called “church” today – which does include both true
followers of Jesus, and those making false professions of faith, and those of
no faith at all – there has been a massive shift away from teaching the true
Jesus and the true gospel of the Scriptures to teaching what is false.
For the general body of Christ here in America at some point
in time compromised with the world and with the state and with big business and
they decided to incorporate the church under the state, making the church a
state church. And then they turned the gatherings of the church into businesses
of men marketed to the world just like any other businesses of men (and women)
and their products.
And thus they began to conform the gatherings of the church
to the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. And now their
focus became to find out what the world was craving and to supply them with a
Christianized version of what the world was offering them. And so they began
following business models for how to grow their churches, and for how to draw
in large crowds of people from the world. So, they altered the gospel, too.
Instead of teaching that we must die with Christ to sin and
live to him and to his righteousness, now they teach that a mere profession of
faith in Jesus Christ guarantees us forgiveness of all sins (past, present, and
future) and the hope of heaven as our eternal destiny, with no requirements for
repentance (turning away from sin) and for walks of obedience to our Lord and
for honoring Jesus Christ as Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives.
[1 Co 1:10-17; Jn 2:13-17; 2 Co
6:14-18; Rev 18:1-5; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 3:17; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2
Co 5:15,21; Eph 1:4; Eph 2:21; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22; Col 3:12; 2 Tim 1:9; 2 Tim
2:21; 1 Pet 1:13-16; 1 Pet 2:5-9,24; Titus 2:11-14; Ac.
2:42-47; Ro. 12:3-8; 1 Co. 12:1-31; Eph. 4:1-16; Rom 6:1-23]
Halting the Working of the Holy Spirit
So, what this means is that the church, overall, though
again not representing every single congregation, put a freeze on the Holy
Spirit and halted the moving of the Holy Spirit in people’s hearts and lives. “The
church,” in practice and in reputation, is not just the body of believers in
Jesus Christ but it is institutions of human making following after the
teachings and instructions of men and their marketing schemes.
Jesus Christ is not the head of this “church,” but humans
are, and people are not being offered true life in the Spirit because what they
are offering them is not the truth of the gospel but a cheapened and diluted
version of the true gospel. What they are offering them is not death to sin and
living to righteousness but freedom from the guilt of their sin and carte blanche
to continue in deliberate and habitual sin without conscience and consequence.
And so this cheapened grace, which does not put death to sin
nor demand holy living from its followers, is the foundation of what is being
taught widely as the true gospel today, and people are buying into it by the
masses. And what this cheapened grace has done is to put a sugar-coating over
top of evil (sin, wickedness) so that sin is not being seen as evil anymore.
Now they call it “messing up,” as though all they did was spill a glass of
milk.
Also, many teachers and preachers of the word of God are now
sugar-coating the gospel to make it more acceptable to the world and to the
flesh of mankind. And so they are telling them that all they have to do is “believe”
(not defined) in Jesus, their sins are now forgiven, and heaven is now
guaranteed them when they die, regardless of how they live their lives from
this time forward. Thus, they are lying to the people, giving them false hope.
And the majority of those listening to their sugar-coated
messages are receiving these messages as though they are gospel truth, and they
are putting up with the lies readily (easily) enough, for sure. And they are
spreading the lies on the internet, in the blogging world, on Christian
discussion sites, and on social media, etc. I see these lies show up in memes on
Facebook on a regular basis, and many people are liking these memes.
Godly Concern
And God is concerned, and I am concerned, and others of his
servants and messengers are also concerned that these lies are being accepted as
truth vastly within the gatherings of what is called “church.” And we are
concerned that so many people calling themselves Christians are buying into
these lies and that they are believing that how they live on this earth will
not matter for them with regard to their eternity.
And so the Lord has me, and he has others like me
confronting these lies, and exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness, and
calling out sin for what it is, and teaching the truth of God’s word in
contrast to the lies which are now permeating the gatherings of what is called “church.”
For we share in his grieving over the spiritual condition of his church and
over the fact that so many professing his name are following the lies and not
the truth.
And this is because we love the church, the body of Christ,
and we love God’s people and the people of this world, and we don’t want to see
anyone taken captive by these lies and led astray from the truth to their
deaths. For we know what the Bible teaches that those who walk in sin, who make
sin their practice, and who do not practice righteousness and obedience to our
Lord, will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what they profess.
So, please don’t believe every meme you see on social media,
and don’t believe everyone who calls himself a preacher or a teacher of the word
or a pastor or a minister of the gospel, not even if his name is Billy Graham.
Test everything you hear and read against the Scriptures in their context and
compare Scripture with Scripture where discrepancies seem to exist. And let the
Holy Spirit lead you to all truth, for many humans are lying to you.
[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 5:10,15,21; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Col
3:5-10; 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; Ac 26:18; Rev 21:8,27;
Rev 22:14-15]
In
Harmony
An
Original Work / September 2, 2012
Based
off Rom 12:9-21; 1 Pet 3:8-17
Love each other truly.
Cling to what is good.
Hate all that is evil.
Never lack in zeal.
Serve the Lord with fervor.
Joyful in hope be;
Patient in affliction;
Praying faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
Share with all God’s people
Who are found in need.
Do not be conceited.
Sympathetic be.
Love, and show compassion
In humility.
Keep your tongue from evil.
Peaceful you must be.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
God sees who are righteous;
Listens to their prayers.
But He’s against evil –
Is His to avenge.
Do not fear what they fear.
Suffer patiently.
In your hearts, make Christ Lord.
Serve Him faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
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