John 10:1-5 ESV
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
The Altering of Church
I was listening a little bit this evening to an American
evangelist by the name of Paul Washer. I can’t say that I agree with Mr. Washer
in all of his theology, but he does, as far as I can tell, preach holiness,
obedience to God, and repentance (the forsaking of sins). And he was talking
about the American church, primarily about their “worship services” and their
music, and how their music affects worship of God or affects worship of the
flesh.
He said something that I believe is profound, and this may
not be an exact quote, but he said something to the effect that most American
churches seem to cater to the worldly who attend their “worship services,”
while they neglect the few people in their congregations who are following
Jesus with their lives, who are loving and obeying the Lord, who are desiring
him above all else, and who truly want to worship him in truth and in
righteousness.
And from what I have personally observed, probably mostly
over the past 23 years, and from what I have read and listened to and heard
other people say, and from what I have experienced working in Christian
ministry myself, I would have to agree with him. And this is a huge problem in today’s
modern market-driven businesses called “church” in America today. For so many
of them are working to please the flesh and the people of the world.
I Began to See It
I don’t know exactly at what point that so many churches
ceased to be the church, the body of Christ, with Christ as her head, and when
they turned into businesses of men to be marketed to the world and to the flesh
of humans, just like any other product that other businesses sell. But I did
not become aware of it until about 23 years ago. But as we were, as a family,
searching for another church to meet our family’s needs, I began to see it.
I began to see how much of what is now called “church” is
catering to the people of the world, and to human flesh, and so they have left
holiness and righteousness and godly living in order to attract the world to
their gatherings. And so they provide entertainment in order to draw in large
crowds of people from the world. And then they soften the truth to make it more
agreeable to the flesh in order to keep the ungodly in their gatherings.
I also noticed that it didn’t matter what church
denomination they were affiliated with, or not, they all seemed to be following
the same man and his plan for how to grow their churches, and they were buying
into his marketing schemes. And this was being passed down to Bible colleges
and seminaries from people in high up positions within denominations, and it
was also being passed down to pastors of churches of many denominations.
And so the focus became to run the church like a business
and to target certain groups of people that they wanted to be in “their churches,”
and then to do what would make the people of the world feel comfortable in
their gatherings so that they would want to come back. And so they altered the
gospel message, too, in order to not offend the people of the world and in
order to not offend human flesh, too. And this is clearly not of God!
So, those people in high up positions in church
denominations who turned the church upside down, and who deliberately altered
and adulterated the gospel of Christ in order to attract the world to their
gatherings, and then the pastors who willfully followed this man-made scheme,
and who knowingly removed parts of the gospel so as not to offend the people of
the world, they are these strangers we are not to listen to, as Jesus’ sheep.
For they do not have the mind of God, but the mind of the
world and the mind that is set on the flesh. And, in reality, what they are doing
is of the devil, not of God, for it is the devil who wants to destroy Jesus and
his gospel and to lead people to continue in their sin without conscience or
remorse. And so it is the devil who has put it into the minds of the religious
heads of denominations to cooperate with his wicked scheme to turn people from
genuine faith in Jesus to follow after their own fleshly desires.
John 10:27-28 ESV
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
This is one of the most misquoted passages of Scripture
today and it is widely used to teach anyone professing faith in Jesus Christ
that they have the guarantee of eternal life with God, no matter what, and that
no one can take it away from them. And this is because they do not quote verse
27 which tells us who this promise is for. For this is not for everyone who
professes faith in Jesus Christ but for all who are living that faith.
For, verse 27 tells us that Jesus’ true sheep listen to him.
Now this does not mean that they merely hear his word via their physical ears,
but true listening involves us engaging in what is being said and us taking it
into our minds and hearts, and us evaluating the truth of it, and if it is
true, then we embrace the truth and we obey it. For that is what it means to
follow Jesus. It means that we do what he says and that we become like him in
mind, heart, and character. And we adopt his ways into our daily practices.
So, those of us who are presently listening to the Lord with
attentive ears ready and willing to do what our Lord says, and then who are
following him in obedience to his commands (New Covenant) are the ones who can
claim this promise of eternal life with God which cannot be taken away from us,
because Jesus can’t be taken away from us or us from him. Yet, this is not
about being absolutely perfect. This is about daily walks of obedience to our
Lord and us daily by the Spirit putting sin to death.
So, if we are to be those of genuine faith in Jesus Christ,
then we are to be those who listen to our Lord and who do what he says and who
do not resist or deny him, as a matter or practice, but who walk in his ways
and in his truth and righteousness, as a matter of life course. And we are to
be those who test what we hear coming from the mouths of other humans against
the Scriptures, in context, so that we don’t end up following these strangers
to our deaths while thinking that we are going to heaven, instead.
I’d
Rather Have Jesus
Oscar C. A. Bernadotte
Rhea F. Miller / Joel A. Erickson
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand
Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.
I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame;
I’d rather be true to His holy name.
He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs;
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.
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