Enemies in the House!

32  “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
33  But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
34  “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
35  For I have come to ‘SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW’;
36  and ‘A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THOSE OF HIS OWN HOUSEHOLD.’ Matthew 10:32-36

This might sound like a ridiculous thing to say, but I believe church is turning into a very dangerous place if you’re not prepared for it properly! Rather than the majority being strengthened in spirit to ride the storms and trials that will surely come, having being armed by godly pastors and teachers with the Sword of the Spirit to fight the good fight. Rather than being encouraged and exhorted to lay down their lives, pick up their cross daily, and follow Jesus’ lonely walk to Calvary, in order to enter into glory through the only true gateway. Instead, many are simply being encouraged to stick their fingers in their ears, and deny the truth of God’s Word on a whole number of different levels, whilst being fattened up for the kill.

The church in general is filled with seeker friendly introduction courses, aimed squarely at bringing people to God on their terms and not His. We have done all we can to drive out the fear of God from the believers heart, all in the name of Jesus. We give vague, if not false promises of assurance, rather than exhortations to sincere self examination. We allow false prophets to minister their lies and deceipts willy nilly, most of which come to nothing whatsoever, and many with extortion as their motive. We push the core doctrines to the back of the queue, such as baptism, repentance, discipleship, the fellowship of His sufferings etc., and yet embrace every strange wind of doctrine that blows through our midst. And worst of all, we promote forcefully our own motivational books and teaching DVD’s, whilst turning a blind eye to all the Bibles gathering dust on our book shelves.

Even now, the church has gotten to the stage where the slightest criticism of any minister, regardless of how valid the criticism, is met with shouts of “touch not the Lord’s anointed…!“. Every heretical doctrine that is spouted out of the mouths of the impostors we allow in our pulpits, is met with the call to “chew the meat and spit out the bones!“. Every time a church leader is exposed as a liar, an adulterer, a homosexual, a thief, or whatever else, is met with exhortations to “judge not lest ye be judged!”

It is time that every Christian born again of the Spirit of God decides to take their faith in Christ seriously, and begin to study the Word earnestly for themselves. Allowing the Holy Spirit to be their Teacher, that they may build such an intimate relationship with the Word of God as to discern the truth in every situation, above all within the walls of the congregations they meet with. It is a duty and responsiblity of us all to ensure this is so, and the claim to be ignorant of the deciept, lies, and false doctrine that surrounds us will only wash for so long.

Let us not confuse being in Christ, to being in the church, for the two are not the same. Our salvation comes from our belief in Him, not the church. Our authority comes from believing in His Word, not what a minister says, no matter how godly we perceive them to be. Whilst we are in the church, we are in a field where the wheat and the tares grow up together, awaiting the day they will be once for all sorted out, one from the other. It is not our duty or calling to judge whether others are fit to enter the Kingdom of God, but it is our duty and calling to examine ourselves to ensure we bear the fruit that is required of us, for that is what the Word tells us to do.

A time is nigh upon us when the truth and deceipt will become almost indistinuishable. The Bible promises that lies and deceipt will become commonplace, often accompanied by great lying signs and wonders to confirm the message. If we are not urged to sober up, wake up, and work out our salvation with fear and trembling right now, how great will be the number who perish needlessly?

Originally posted 2009-03-20 09:04:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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