Most cops are no-nonsense types who don’t want to play games to get to the truth of a matter. They want it straight up with no hidden agendas or ulterior motives. It’s how we’re hard-wired.
When buying your body armor, did you choose the fancy looking more comfortable vest with the lower Threat Level rating, or did you choose the one with the higher rating? Do you see where I’m going with this? When you’re serious, you buy a vest for serious protection. Style and comfort are secondary. It’s the same when it comes to seeking spiritual truth.
If the church you choose is not teaching the “rightly-divided” Truth of God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:15), you’re compromising your spiritual threat protection level against sin and temptation and are going with what looks or feels better. This is unwise no matter how fancy, comfortable, or convenient that church may be for you.
The looks and feel of your body armor won’t help you when the lead is heading in your direction. In the same way, how “comfortable” you may feel in a church will not be of any help to you in spiritual battles (2 Timothy 4:3, Ephesians 6:13-16) if they are not teaching the Truth of God’s Word.
There is a Danger in Choosing Comfort and Convenience over Truth
The dilemma in which most churches find themselves these days is how to stay “relevant” in today’s changing world. The only thing that will remain relevant at all times and under all circumstances is the unchanging truth of God’s Word.
If a church or denomination teaches their own ideas and traditions (Matthew 15:9) which are unsupported by Scripture or are taken out of proper scriptural context; or if a church is simply a “religious social club” where the people gather to be entertained with no serious intent to hear the Word preached and apply Its truths to their lives, then it will lose its relevance and will have to keep coming up with something new to maintain the people’s attention. Such churches become servants to the latest “purpose-driven whatever…” (See “Driven by Purpose Theology“)
These churches succumb to a market-driven philosophy in which the lost and unsaved are allowed to determine what is taught and presented in the church. The Truth of God’s Word is replaced by what the people want to hear, even though they may not recognize or even admit that such a thing is taking place in their congregation.
But if the goal is to fill the pews, then the temptation to use the latest gimicks to bring the people in is what usually takes place.
· 2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears [wanting to be told what they want to hear]; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
Designer brand name coffee and donuts for all who attend… Glitzy praise and worship teams with girls in mini-skirts bouncing to worldly rhythmic “Christian” music… Entertaining theatrical productions… Heavy emotionalism with “moving of the Holy Ghost” causing people to speak in strange “tongues” or fall over… I have seen them all…
· Jude 4 “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Such gimmicks and shallow teaching lead people away from the Truth and towards worldliness.
· 1 John 3:10 “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”
Whatever gimick a church uses to get people into the church is exactly what they have won them to. Filling the pews should not be the primary goal.
· 1 Corinthians 3:19-20 “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. (20) And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”
But What Does it Matter if it’s all Christian?
What makes something “Christian?” So many today believe something is “Christian” if it mentions “God.” This watered-down definition of “Christian” has spawned such oxymoronic things as “Christian rock music”, “Christian rap music”, and all the other garbage that our children have come to believe is “Christian.”
The word “God” has become a vague term that it is not synonymous with “Jesus Christ.” (Acts 4:12) Mentioning “God” without specifically acknowledging His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is not giving honor to Him. (Colossians 1:19, Colossians 2:9).This is an insidious strategy of Satan which seems to be working well.
So many churches, denominations, and “faith traditions” which would publicly consider themselves to be Bible-believing “Christian churches” do not hold God’s Word to be the only inspired, infallible, and final authority for all matters of faith and practice. They add to and take away from God’s Word.
Many look to man’s wisdom, humanistic psychology, traditional church teachings which are not supported by Scripture, popularity, and current trends of religious thought for their authority and direction. And many deny the Doctrine of Christ, which unquestionably removes them from the realm of true Biblical Christianity (2 John 1-13). The Bible warns true Christians not to even acknowledge such apostate groups. (See “On Apostasy“)
Some of these groups reject whole doctrines found in Scripture! Others pick and choose from the Bible what they like and don’t like. And some teach their own ideas and traditions as if they were Biblical doctrine. God’s Word isn’t a salad bar! A solid church will defend the Truth of God’s Word boldly and refuse to add to it no matter how unpopular it may make them!
But Isn’t it God’s Desire for Unity Among Churches?
No, it really isn’t — especially at the expense of the Truth! The popular trend today is toward ecumenicism, or unity among all Christian faith traditions. It’s a fine-sounding idea for everybody to hold services in common “…just to get together and love Jesus…” That sounds so good! How can anything be wrong with that? Plenty!
When different “denominations” decide to agree with each other, someone has to give up a part of what they believe. Someone has to compromise their standards. The same occurs when denominations buy into eccumenicism. No church is perfect, but it is important to find one that teaches and defends the Truth of God’s Word alone.
But it’s Just Church…. What’s the Big Deal?
It won’t take long for one bad apple to ruin a whole bushel of good ones. And notice in Jude 4 that the ones who crept in were not recognized as ungodly men! They were accepted into the assembly! That is why the Bible forbids fellowship with those whose beliefs and teachings are not Biblical. Just like the blemish from the single bad apple will eventually ruin the rest in the bushel, so will false teaching and error corrupt and ruin many.
That is why it is so important to separate ourselves from what the Bible calls the world and all of its influences and ideas, ungodly music, and false doctrines. That is why God’s Word warns us about those who engage in vain repetitious rituals and who teach church traditions over what the Bible teaches.
The Bible does not teach Christian infiltration into these dens of apostasy, error, worldliness, and false teaching; it teaches separation from that which is unrighteous.
God’s Original New Testament Church
In Chapter 2 of the Book of Acts in the New Testament, God sets forth His blueprint for His true church as an independently-governed, geographically-local assembly of like-minded born-again believers who have then submitted themselves to believer’s baptism and who follow only God’s Word, not traditional teachings or the dictates of a larger distant entity.
· Acts 2:41 “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them [the local church] about three thousand souls.”
The concept of different “denominations” is not found in the Bible. What we find in the Bible are examples of those churches which taught correct doctrine and those which taught error and false doctrine.
We find examples of churches which God blessed for obedience, and those which He cursed for apostasy and disobedience. Find a church where the Truths of the Bible are defended, not replaced with whatever feels good.
· Mark 7:13 “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.”
The problem is that there are now a majority of churches today which do their own thing in contradiction to God’s Word (2 Timothy 4:3-4), so you have to be very careful! Churches and denominations are like spiritual restaurants: they’re everywhere, and you can always find one that will feed you whatever you have a taste to consume!
This wouldn’t be a problem if all faith traditions and beliefs were correct and true and equally holy in the sight of God. But according to His own Word, this simply isn’t the case. By definition, there can be only one Truth.
Don’t let anyone tell you that Biblical Truth is open to interpretation from any outside source; or that “God is still speaking…” Biblical Truth isn’t open to interpretation. God has revealed His full and complete will in His Word. He didn’t forget to put something in It that he now has to reveal to us by some miraculous means; nor does He ever change.
· 2 Peter 1:20-21 “(20) Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. (21) For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
We’re often admonished not to discuss certain things in public, like politics or religion in. Certainly with politics everyone’s opinion may be valid, but when it comes to faith, the Truth of God’s Word is still the Truth and is not something we should ignore. And because It is the Truth, those who disagree with what the Bible teaches are the ones who are wrong.
· Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Many say, “But my intellect tells me something different!… I think my way is right!”
· Proverbs 21:2 “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.”
The Bible is full of examples where people did what they thought in their hearts was right, but it was wrong according to the revealed will of God. Others went ahead and did what they wanted, even though they knew it was wicked in the sight of the LORD. And they ALL reaped the consequences because when people choose to do what God prohibits, or when they refuse to do what God commands them to do, they commit sin. And sin always comes with consequences. Have you learned that yet in your own life?
1 Corinthians 1:20-21 “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
BEWARE OF SUGAR-COATED FEEL-GOOD NO-TRUTH-REQUIRED TEACHING
· Romans 10:2-3 “[2] For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. [3] For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
You’ll never build your upper-body strength if all you eat is sugar; and yet there are those whose teachings contain all the sugar-coated emotionalism and positive talk a person could ever want to hear, but the whole thing lacks the Truth and righteousness of God whose life-changing applicable Truth demands more than a superficial emotional experience.
People who sit under the instruction of feel good preaching which contains no real Truth will spiritually wither and faint. That is not the way to grow strong in the faith and have victory over sin and temptation! The serious spiritual bodybuilder needs to be instructed in righteousness based upon correct Biblical doctrine. It is not an easy road. It requires obedience to Christ, which isn’t always the popular way to go. Maybe it’s time to examine your own motive for going to church.
BEWARE OF EASY-BELIEVISM, CHEAP GRACE, NO-GROWTH-EXPECTED TEACHING
· Luke 5:32 “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Do you know why Jesus didn’t come to call the righteous? Because there aren’t any righteous people anywhere! Those who think they are righteous in themselves won’t ever realize their desperate sinful condition and come to Christ for mercy and forgiveness! But for those who admit they’re not righteous, He said:
· Luke 9:23 “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
God’s grace was not cheaply gained by anyone. It cost God the life of His very own Son. And Jesus expects all those who will be saved by Him to be obedient to Him. True repentance results in obedience which produces a changed life characterized by regular spiritual growth! The grace of God proves the existence of His holiness and justice: it presents absolute Truth and has the power to save us from eternity in Hell.
Unfortunately, the Bible says in Jude 4 that there are people who will turn God’s grace into a cheap thing. They will tell you that you can be saved simply by mumbling a few words in a quick “sinner’s prayer.” And they won’t care if you make an immediate return to the old life with no thought given to true repentance and obedience to Christ! Jesus did not submit Himself to crucifixion on the cross just so we could continue to sin! He did not suffer and die so that we could join a religious social club.
There are those who will tell people everything they would ever want to hear about how God loves them and accepts them just as they are, which is true; but they will fail to teach that God hates the sin and He expects them to repent. He expects them to change their ways, obey Him, and live a life of victory over sin and temptation.
They will also teach that forgiveness comes automatically to everybody because of Christ’s death on the cross; or that you will go to Heaven because you were baptized as a baby. These teachings are simply not supported in Scripture. They are teaching denominational traditions as if they were Biblical doctrines.
· Matthew 15:9 “But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
(See “On Baptism”) There can be no forgiveness without personal repentance! (See “On Repentance“)
· Luke 13:3 “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Why will those who refuse to repent perish?
· Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;”
“Holding the truth in unrighteousenss” means they know better, but they suppress the truth because it is inconvenient for them, for whatever reason.
BEWARE OF THOSE WHO WATER-DOWN, ADD TO, OR IGNORE THE WORD OF GOD
· II Peter 2:1 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”
A popular trend today is to claim that certain parts of God’s Word are “cultural” for the time they were written and therefore do not apply to our “modern times.” One such particular area these days is that of gender in the pastorate.
If the “pastor” of a church is female, how can such a church be faithfully preaching and teaching the rest of the Word of God? The Holy Spirit directed the Apostle Paul to use specifically male pronouns in the qualifications of pastors and deacons of the church (1 Timothy 3:16). If the Holy Spirit would have wanted females to be pastors, He would have said so.
The Bible is not telling us that women are less important than men, or that they are second-class human beings; it is simply God’s given role for men to be the spiritual leaders in both the home and His church. By the way, the word translated in the KJV as “bishop” simply means an overseer or pastor of a single local church; not the overseer of a group of churches or diocese. No such concept of several churches being under the supervision of a distant individual or entity exists in the Word of God concerning His New Testament church.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
God does not change (Malachi 3:6) and His instructions are not “cultural” or open to interpretation. Remember that words actually mean something. Pay attention to God’s words!
· 1 Timothy 2:11-14 “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” 1 Timothy 2:11-14
LET’S GET BACK TO THE BASICS
We are all born as sinners bound for Hell. Jesus was the Righteous Lamb of God Who died to save repentant sinners. He rose from the dead, and we are saved only by grace through faith in Him and no other; Salvation is a gift of God which we cannot earn. We must each willingly enter into a personal relationship with Christ through repentance, belief, and verbal acknowledgement in order to be saved. It is Jesus plus nothing; Jesus minus nothing! There is no co-redeemer in heaven. Any teaching of salvation by good works or by worship or baptism, by the taking of any type of sacrament – even the eucharist - , or by any other thing added to the simple Grace of God through Jesus Christ is a false teaching. Run away from them who teach it!
Is My Church Teaching Truth?
You decide for yourself based upon the Truth of God’s Word. If your church does not teach the simple undeniable truths of these passages of Scripture, then they are leading people into an eternal hell by omission of material fact, just as a defendant under oath lies when he does not tell the whole truth.
· John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Attending church does not make you a born-again Christian any more than living in your garage makes you a car. Having a mental acknowledgement of Jesus is also not enough.
· Ephesians 2:8-9 “[8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Heaven can not be earned by good moral behavior or by being a member of a certain church or denomination. It is only by willfully and purposefully placing your personal faith and trust in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to save you that you will ever enter into Heaven.
If your chuch adds anything to the simple Truth of salvation by God’s Grace through faith, or if they do not tell you that you must be born again, or encourage and challenge their people to spiritual growth and maturity in their relationship with Christ, then they are keeping their people in spiritual diapers and in bondage to error! If they call those who defend the Truth “legalists,” then maybe it’s time for you to move on!
WHY DOESN’T ANY OF THIS SOUND FAMILIAR TO ME?
· 2 John 1:7-8 “[7] For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an anti-christ. [8] Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.”
In the mid-1970′s a survey was taken among seminary students all across the nation. These “pastors-in-training” back then were asked if they believed in the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and in the literal existence of Hell as Christ Himself taught. Less than 20% of these pastors-in-training back then said they actually believed in the literal Biblical teaching in these two areas! What kind of “theologians” have been filling the majority of our pulpits for the past 30+ years? But Truth is still Truth, regardless of who believes it or not. And God must be worshipped in Truth because it is the Truth which will make you free! (John 8:32).
These “pastors-in-training” back in the mid-1970′s rejected the very Doctrine of Christ, and it is they who have filled the pulpits across America for the past thirty years. And it is worse today than ever before! Whose preaching and teaching have you been sitting under lately?
I hope that your desire to attend church comes from your genuine heart’s desire to seek God’s Truth. Please contact me if you have any questions or if I can help you locate a solid Bible-believing and preaching church in your area.
-Tim.
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