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CONCLUSION
We've all heard comments about the wolf in sheep's clothing. We all
relegate that in the spectrum of Christianity to the liberals and false
teachers under the umbrella of "Christianity." I would like to suggest
that today we have little ways in which it is really the devil creeping
under that umbrella - slowly but surely sneaking into the church and its
activities.
II Cor. 11:13-15 states, "For such [are] false apostles, deceitful workers,
transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for
Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore [it is]
no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of
righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."
We normally relate this to the false teaching that is made to look like
truth. We do have a serious problem with this today. The churches divorce
rate is currently about the same as the worlds. We have accepted the world
philosophy of, try it you'll like it. If you don't, divorce it.
We are also seeing more and more unsaved people as church members. Some
are even on the boards of previously sound churches. Indeed, I have been
told of unsaved sitting on the boards of fundamental churches.
The Devil has been copying the Lord's ways, means and ideas since the
beginning.
I trust that you will take this section as with a grain of salt until
you do some thinking about it on your own in future days, but I have been
tossing it around a lot over a long period of time, and feel that there
is a bunch of truth in it.
In this study I would like to just think of the devil's influence on
the church. He doesn't have to copy the church or the Lord's doings, He
now just has to wait a few months until the church copies the world's ways
and he has his stuff into the church at the church's invitation.
Just what are some of these items that we, the church, copy?
What I'm about to say may not be bad, but consider it - beware of it
- act on it.
1. When I was growing up the rock and roll stations introduced us to
the top 40! Today we have top forties of Western, Blue Grass, Popular,
Rock, Heavy Metal AND now CHRISTIAN MUSIC! We have Christian rock, Christian
rap and I recently heard music that was an attempt to copy the New Age
music recently.
2. We have had toy action figures with us for a number of years, at
least since Star Wars, and in the late 80's we were introduced to BIBLE
ACTION FIGURES!
3. We have for years had Sunday School songs and choruses, but now we
have Christian words put to everyday tunes of the world. (Brother John,
I've Been Worken on The Railroad etc.)
4. The world gave us heavy metal and the church now has CHRISTIAN HEAVY
METAL!
5. Historical novels have been with us for years and years but the Christians
of our time just have to have their CHRISTIAN HISTORICAL NOVELS based on
the lives of Biblical characters.
6. How about Bible Trivia? The terms in the title of that game ought
to say enough to help us understand our subject in this study - BIBLE -
TRIVIA! REALLY!
7. I walked into a Christian's home in the late 80's and noticed several
Jr. Hi. age young people playing Bible Pictionary. One of the young people
was exploding with excitement because she had the answer first, and she
hollered at the top of her lungs, "The Blood of Christ!!!!!!" I really
think that the blood of Christ should have a little more dignity than that!
8. The rock groups had their guitars, bass guitars, keyboards and now
so do the churches.
9. We need to have a good evangelism program so we are out there using
memorized programs that have been set up by people that are near commercial
quality. Why do we need a spit and polish program when we don't need it.
If we needed it, we would have first and second evangelism not Romans.
Others use questionnaires to get the people to talk to them. The use
of questionnaires is not wrong, unless it is a tool to get in the door.
If you are really interested in the answers to the questions, and plan
on using that information, then surveys are okay. If you use it for a door
opener, consider a study of ethics.
10. The world has given their employees packages of benefits and pay
and termed it many things, but today we have many pastors that judge a
prospective church on the pay package that they offer. Within the pay package
are items such as:
salary parsonage allowance travel conference expenses vacation pay clothing allowance medical insurance social security retirement package moving expenses relocation expenses and anything else the pastor can suggest.
By the way, what is living by faith? I fear for many it is:
F inancially secure
A ffluent
I ncome rising
T ax sheltered
H ome paid for
11. Christians have condemned the costly cathedrals of the Roman church
yet we are building bigger, and better, and snazzyer churches than ever.
12. We have known for centuries that the Lord holds each and everyone
of us as very valuable. We know that we all have great value in God's eyes,
yet we have invited the "self image" and "self worth" philosophy into our
churches, and many of our youth are thriving on it.
13. We despise bigotry yet we have educational bigotry in many of our
fellowships and groups. We have some looking down their noses at minimally
educated people, and they in turn condemn the higher education people as
over educated.
For that matter how many of the churches that you have been in have
black people as members, unless the whole church is black?
14. The Roman Church had their problems with not allowing the lay people
to have the Bible to read for centuries! Never will fundamentalists do
that, we have said for many moons, yet we have many seminaries teaching
their students, OUR PASTORS, that you cannot properly understand the Bible
unless you know the original languages. Not to many steps down the road
and we may have the Romanists telling us off about that one.
15. How about the teaching and preaching of the church today?
How accurate is it? I have seen men declare boldly something that is
in the Old Testament that was for an age past as fact for our living, yet
ignore other teaching in the Old Testament or the New Testament that declares
that the principle has been set aside.
I heard a man declare boldly that the sin of the father will be visited
upon the children and he gave an illustration of a father that went into
adultery in June and in July his Godly teenage daughter started sleeping
with her boyfriend. Now the story may be true, yet it does not prove that
the principle is for today. Indeed, the Book of Ezekiel chapter 18 seems
to say that God has changed that principle!
I sat in a Sunday School class in a Baptist church and listened for
half an hour about the bills that the church had. The pastor told us that
we had to take offerings to pay those bills before the Lord returned, so
that we wouldn't have to take offerings when the Lord was here. Proof?
Yes, of course he had a proof text! I Cor. 16:2, "Upon the first day of
the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered
him, that there be no gatherings when I come." THAT WAS PAUL SPEAKING BY
THE WAY!
How Biblical is it? I have heard many many sermons that the speaker
used a bit of a verse as a spring board to go off into some topic that
he wanted to cover, and never again return to the Word for direction or
proof.
How honest is it? We say that we reject the principles of modern day
counseling and the psychiatrists of days gone by, yet we still hear "Christian
counselors" that are rerunning the old, "why do you hate your mother" (or
father), Fruedian principles.
We say in some circles that we reject the accreditation as teaching
institutions, yet we accept the accreditation of the organizational part
of the institutions. Seems a bit illogical to most.
16. How about missions today?
Are we following Biblical principles? Or are we out there trying man's
concoctions? I have been told of men that are attempting to start a churches
by telemarketing. The same principles that insurance salesmen use to sell
insurance!
We are seeing more and more Christians feel that we should use the world's
principles.
When I was on deputation and the support wasn't coming in a Christian
sat me down and told me what I was doing wrong. He mentioned that I wasn't
being a good Public Relations man. He thought that the church was all wrong
in sending people out on deputation. His thought was that we should introduce
advertising campaigns into the church and raise money as a secular Ad Campaign
might raise money.
Are we totally committed to reaching the lost? Again, when I was on
deputation I sat across the table from a man that was questioning the "COST
EFFECTIVENESS" of missions. If the missionary can't produce certain results
then he is not being cost effective and should be brought home or sent
elsewhere.
The telemarketing that I mentioned earlier is based on the same principle.
If you can't raise enough interest by making so many phone calls in an
area then it is not cost effective to go ahead and start a church in that
area.
WHAT HAPPENED TO "SAVING THE LOST AT ANY COST!"?
WHAT HAPPENED TO "SOLD OUT FOR GOD!"?
WHAT HAPPENED TO "GIVING ALL FOR GOD'S GLORY!"?
One more question. "WHAT HAPPENED?"
17. The world has had radio for many years and believers have used secular
stations to propagate the Gospel. In recent years we have "Christian Radio"
that is for the purpose of ________, you tell me, cuz I don't know.
If it is for the propagation of the Gospel, why do I hear so little
Gospel on it. If it is for the edification of the saints, why do I hear
so much false doctrine on it?
I have people constantly telling me how great the listening is on Christian
radio, yet every time I tune in on Sunday morning, I hear I'm going to
hell because I sinned last Tuesday.
The real crime is that we have Christians supporting those stations!
God's money is going to help propagate false doctrine and play Christian
rock!
Sure I can be selective to what I listen to, but how about that lost
person that tunes in looking for help and finds some false teaching to
follow.
I'm not against giving to Christian programs, but do it directly to
the ministry and encourage them to change to secular stations where the
lost people listen. At least on secular radio the lost know selectivity
is necessary.
18. I promised myself that I would not mention dress when I was finishing
up these comments. I would not want to talk about dress. Yes I would want
to talk about dress. In fact just a comment or two, (or three or four).
As I try to live a Godly life why would I want to use the same sort
of language the world does?
As I try to live a Godly life why would I want to frequent the places
that the world frequents?
As I try to live a Godly life why would I want to live by the same standard
that the world lives by?
As I try to live a Godly life why would I want to educate myself as
the world educates itself?
As I try to live a Godly life why would I want to look and dress like
the world looks and dresses?
End commentary.
19. How about Christian performers that cost $8000 per show?
20. Maybe the Christian Publishers - you know those that really want
to reach the world. Reach the world with the Bible at $34.95 a copy.
21. Might we suggest that we are not only copying the world, but in
some cases we are working with the world - with the lost.
We have mission translators that turn their work over to the Roman Catholic
Church. We have evangelists that turn their converts back into lost, state
churches as well as to the Roman Catholic Church. We have people that work
within the Roman Church.
These are all groups that evangelical and fundamental people support
with God's money.
22. How do we treat the names of God? I was in a Sunday School class
recently called the God squad. Cute? Yes. Honoring to God? I doubt it,
on the whole.
23. We don't teach about the devil, demons, and hell today. We are helping
eliminate those things from a new generations thinking. Add to that the
fact that many of these same kids watch the occult etc. on television and
assume that it is good viewing.
24. In the early 90's I was listening to "Christian radio" and heard
a news flash. It was from Jerusalem and it was "on the spot coverage" of
Christ's triumphal entry. Actually it was stated that they were covering
a parade. The commentator mentioned that the parade was planned by the
religious leaders, and that it had great political overtones. The blurb
sounded innocent enough, however it was teaching falsehood. Christ was
not political, the religious leaders did not plan it and it was not a parade.
Aside from that it lowered the Lord's declaration of Himself as KING to
the level of a newscast that was false coverage.
25. It wasn't bad enough to have a bunny that lays colored decorated
eggs, but now we have shrink wrap, religious plastic coverings for eggs.
26. We saw a sign advertising Easter goodies in Wyoming. Chocolate bunnies,
marshmallow eggs, crosses and suckers.
Do you feel that the church is making the "Holy" things common and everyday?
It seems that the church has taken many things spiritual and placed them
on a plain that is so common that the children of our day are going to
have a hard time understanding why church, the Bible, and Christianity
are of any importance at all.
Do we really know what evil is anymore? Do we really recognize the devil's
ways when we are looking at them? Do we really understand the ramifications
of what we are doing in the church today?
GOD FORBID THAT YOU AS A STUDENT OF GOD'S WORD GO OUT AND PERPETUATE
WHAT IS GOING ON IN MANY OF OUR CHURCHES! IF ALL YOU ARE GOING TO DO IS
FURTHER WHAT THE DEVIL IS DOING IN THE CHURCH THEN DON'T GET INVOLVED IN
THE MINISTRY! GOD DOES NOT NEED YOU!
HOW DARE YOU USE GOD'S MONEY, YOUR TIME TO ASSIST THE ADVERSARY!
If on the other hand you are going out into the world to use the Bible
as your handbook for Christian living, for church planting, for church
organization, for family building, then GO FOR IT AND MAY GOD BLESS THE
DAY LIGHTS OUT OF YOU!
BOLD? HEAVY? OPINIONATED? I CERTAINLY HOPE SO! IF IT ISN'T THEN I HAVE
FAILED IN WHAT I WANTED TO DO IN THIS SECTION!
If you are not awake to the Devil's work in the church in this country
now, then I suspect that you are a bit on the blind side!
A related study is the study of humanism and its effect on the church.
If you just read through the Humanist manifestos, you will see that the
humanist thinking is having serious affects on the church.
I would like to close with a passage of Scripture:
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you."
Keep the order on that right"! It's submit to God and resist the Devil
NOT submit to the Devil and resist God!