October 8, 2013
" ... and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." .. Matthew 24:11
Another one bites the dust! .... Of course many of us always suspected it, but now it is official. .. What am i talking about, you ask? ... On October 3rd, World Net Daily came out with this story ... "Joel Osteen finally comes out on 'gay' issue" ... A comment from the article said this ... " 'God absolutely approves of everyone, including homosexuals' ... declared one of America's most well-known evangelical pastors. .. 'The Bible said a sin is pride, a sin is self-ambition. We tend to pick out these certain things. .. But I believe every person is made in the image of God, and you have to accept them as they are, on their journey. .. I'm not to be preaching hate, pushing people down. .. I'm not here telling people what they're doing wrong.' "
Wow! ... I thought those that take on the responsibility of shepherding a flock was to teach them the 'truth of the Scriptures' ... not water it down so as to adjust to what is currently popular in today's society! ... Regardless of what century we live in, the Bible is very clear as to what is .. and what is not .. sin. .. In the New Testament alone, there are over 20 specific passages that address the issues of homosexuality, sexual perversion, and immorality as sin. ... Here's just one ... 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says this ... "Do you not know that the wicked will NOT inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolators nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10) nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the Kingdom of God." (emphasis mine)
And one more thing ... why do these false teachers and popularity seekers always accuse those of us who take the Scriptures literally as being 'haters'? .... Nothing could be further from the truth. ... Jesus died for every soul that has ever been conceived and mourned for every one of them who chose NOT to follow His teachings. ... Being followers of Christ requires each of us to do the same ... mourn for those who are lost, regardless of their sin. ... But it is also the responsibility of each follower to witness to those living in sin and to tell them the truth of the Word of God. ... Compromise is NOT one of those teachings!
OK .. moving on ... How about Katharine Jefferts Schori ... the recent presiding Bishop the U.S. Episcopalian Church. ... She was just recently deposed for denying that Episcopalians need personal salvation. ... But it doesn't stop there! ... Check this out ... Upon leaving, her comment was this ... "I don't want to run a church filled with homophobes, anti-inclusivists, traditionalists, evangelicals, fundamentalists and those lacking in diversity." ... She was also recently called out by an African bishop for stating that the Apostle Paul's teachings were 'of the devil and no longer relevant.' ... He accused her of blasphemy .. a sin for which there is no forgiveness.
Now, let's look at just these first two characters for a moment. ... How many people have they influenced? ..
Joel Osteen's church is estimated to be at around 45,000 souls! ... not to mention his books and TV appearances... And what about Jefferts Schori? ... The American Episcopalian Church numbers in the millions!
Now how about Rick Warren? ... This guy reaches utterly millions more in his efforts to build his empire. His teaching series "The Purpose Driven Life" is one of the biggest selling of all time. ... So what about him? ... Well, first of all, he invites apostate 'Christians' to his pulpit ... ones who agree, or represent current issues contrary to Biblical teachings ... issues like abortion and homosexuality ... one such being then-candidate Barak Obama. ... In addition, he has been heavily involved with the Muslims in what has evolved into the 'Chrislam' movement. ... Sorry Rick, but you don't 'get in bed' with people who follow a god that encourages the teachings of 'convert, or kill'. ... Contrary to what these 'Chrislam' people, and others are espousingthese days, we DO NOT worship the same god. ... It may not be popular in many circles today, but the ONLY way to Heaven is through faith in JESUS CHRIST ... period.
There's so many more, but for the sake of time, I will address just one more ... the Pope. ... Now this guy rivals just about any and all false teachers of our time ... and he's done it in a remarkably short time! ... The stories are too numerous to report ... almost daily ... so let me just sum up as briefly as i can ... Homosexuality is OK ... atheists can go to heaven ... we worship the same God as the Muslims (I wonder if him and Warren have talked) ... you can get 'twitter' points for deductions on your time served in Purgatory if you follow him at certain times ... (what?!) ... the list just goes on and on ......
Some of you have heard of the Saint named Malachy who, in the 12th century, prophesied a list of 112 popes, which would make our current one the last before the return of Christ. ... Now whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but him being the last is a real possibility! ... Why, you say? ... Well, everything he's doing is an overt effort to unify the churches of the world into one great big mass (no pun intended) body .. So let's very briefly look at Bible prophecy to see what it says about this. ... First, Revelation 17:1 talks of the "Great Harlot (or prostitute) that comes upon the scene in the final days. This 'Harlot' represents the coming world church. .. Then in verse 3, she is seen as riding the "Scarlet Beast" .. which is the representation of the coming world ruler, the anti-christ. ... Then, fast-forwarding to verse 9, we see that she comes from the city of "seven hills".. now most everyone knows that the 'seven hills' represents none other than the city of Rome! ... Brief overview, I realize, but you get the point. ....
So what does all the aforementioned tell us? .... That 'deception' is running rampant in these final days of the Church Age. ... Let's support this with a couple Scriptures ... Jesus Himself prophesied that there would be these deceivers and false teachers in the last days ... Matthew 24:4 says, "Watch out that no deceives you." (also see Mark 13:5 & Luke 21:8) ... In addition, Romans 16:18 says, "For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people." ... and one more ... 2 Timothy 4:3-4 says it all ... "For a 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. 4) They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."
Myths! ... That is exactly what these modern-day flatterers are doing ... teaching myths .. things that are contrary to the truth of the Holy Scriptures! ... These seeker-friendly, no judgement, get rich quick, 'be a better me' theologies are NOT what was taught by the author of our faith. ... Today's primary concerns for these 'smooth talkers' is to get as many as possible under their control which leads to fame and earthly wealth.
What is the saddest to me is that most of the people in today's fast-paced society will fall into their clutches ... and why? ... Most folks out there just don't possess enough Bible knowledge to protect themselves from all these earthly-enticing messages.... And as for our Catholic friends, they have an extra burden ... their leaders take care of their sins for them ... all one has to do is take a few minutes to tell them! ... And the Pope? ... It is taught that he is 'infallible' ... meaning that he CANNOT be wrong ... ever! ... I say blasphemy! .... There is only ONE who is infallible .. only one who is NEVER wrong, and that is God! .. (OK Red, calm down) .....
Matthew 7:13-14 says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14) But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." ..... And then Matthew 22:14 says, "For many are invited, but few are chosen."
Now these are sobering teachings by the Savior Himself! ... In essence, He is telling us that it is our responsibility to follow His teachings as closely as humanly possible ... not to distort or change them to fit a different society or culture! ... When we look at these aforementioned leaders, that is exactly what they are doing! ... Adjusting so as to 'fit' today's desired ways of life. ... How dangerous!
It would seem, when looking at today's churches in America, and by these examples we've just looked at, that judgement preaching is, for the most part, a thing of the past. ... Certainly no one wants to be told that they're going to hell every five minutes, but people need to hear that there is a dire consequence for the sin in their lives. ... And who set the example for this type of teaching? ... Certainly all the prophets of the Old Testament pulled no punches when it came to the truth of their people's deceitful ways ... and how about jesus Himself? ... He never hedged when it came to compromised lifestyles. ... Here is a fact not many know ... Hell is mentioned 12 times in the New Testament, and 11 of those were from Jesus Himself! ... Simply put, "For the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23) ....
OK ... Let's wrap this up with this thought ... Going back to the African Bishop who accused Jefferts Scori of blasphemy, he also said that all those in the church who continue to follow her and her teachings would bear the same sin on judgement day. ... He is absolutely right in saying this! ... So, the point is this ... if you are sitting under a pastor/teacher who is spewing a watered-down distorted doctrine, you need to first confront this person and point out your concerns. ... If that does not work, then you have an urgent responsibility to flee! .... We are each responsible for our own salvation ... don't take it lightly!
Matthew 7:21-23 says this ...... "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22) Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name,and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23) Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers."
Read your Bibles ... ask questions ... listen carefully to everyone who is in a position of leadership and test their works. .... We may find that the 'true' walk required of us may be difficult at times, both because of the society we live in as well as our own human desires ... and it may not be the popular way of the day .. but you will find that as you grow, you will begin to realize a whole new peace and freedom in the victory it will bring to you ... and you will spend eternity with your Savior rejoicing in your the victory over sin ... Hallelujah!
Until next time,
Red