By Greg Holt
“It is amazing to this writer, well perhaps not so amazing in this day; that for those who hold to biblical beliefs – we are often ridiculed, persecuted, and ostracized by others in the Church. To actually believe in what the Word of God teaches has become unpopular, unloving, and is not even considered “Christian” by many today. Just attend a protest against abortion, or gay Pride Parades, and witness what “church” goers, even pastors do and say.”
Matthew describes the majority of today’s Church very well:
Matthew 15:7-9 7 “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
The Catholic Church teaches that the priests cannot marry, yet this church insists that they are directly descended from the Apostle Peter, and that all other churches came after them and are basically imitators. The Apostle Peter as many will know was married. There is also the no red meat on Fridays rule.
The Apostle Paul spoke of these things:
1 Timothy 4:1-3 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.”
Paul’s writings here likely were aimed at Jewish sects of the day and various others including the Gnostics, that being said, as the entire Bible is divinely inspired – these Scriptures (any Scriptures) can be applied to any unbiblical situation. As for no red meat on Friday, this was (is) supposedly to honor the death of Christ. But Christ Himself laid out for us how to honor His sacrifice for us, communion – Jesus said nothing about not eating meat on Fridays.
1 Corinthians 11:23-25 23 “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Seventh-Day Adventists teach that one is not supposed to eat any meat, fish, or poultry – as well as no caffeine, alcohol or tobacco.
Mormons teach that one is not to consume tea, coffee, or any hot beverage, and no alcohol or tobacco. (Source)
Some of these things may well be good for you, but a church has no business teaching them as part of their church doctrine. The doctrine of the Church should be the doctrine of Christ, nothing more, and nothing less.
Meanwhile, the majority of today’s Churches refrain from practicing one of the greatest commandments of Jesus: evangelism. Practicing ones faith outside the Church is frowned on; it’s like telling a pastor to preach on the goodness of Satan, not going to happen.
One could say that sharing the Gospel (the Great Commission) is the 3rd greatest commandment of Christ (my words, not Christ’s or His Word, the Bible) as the first two are well summed up in Matthew 22:36-40. These of course being to: love the Lord with all of your heart, and to love all others as yourself. I try, but I have to admit, this is a pretty tall order that I fail miserably.
Matthew 28:19-20 19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Many other churches of today violate the Word of God by allowing homosexuals, lesbians, and transgenders to be pastors (even youth pastors) and elders in the Church. These people need to be welcomed to participate in church services, but they are not to be in any position of authority within the Church. The common refrain is: “Love is love,” or “It’s just love.”
For a man to love a man, or a woman to love a woman – as a brother or sister is good and acceptable. To love the same sex as a sexual partner is not.
God does not hate the people of the LGBTQ, and those who teach such, or imply it are wrong and bring dishonor on all believers, as well as God Himself. God loves all people and desires them to come to repentance and an acceptance of the truth (and obviously Him), regardless of what sin they have committed. At the same time, God specifically says that same-sex relationships are wrong, period – no exceptions. Any churches supporting these relationships are unbiblical and are no church at all. My best advice to anyone that is in such a church, flee, as fast as your feet will take you.
I myself do not want to be identified with “Christians,” I would much rather just be a believer in Jesus Christ, and I also think of myself as a member of the Remnant Church. Why you ask would I say such a thing? Read on…
It is amazing to this writer, well perhaps not so amazing in this day; that for those who hold to biblical beliefs – we are often ridiculed, persecuted, and ostracized by others in the Church. To actually believe in what the Word of God teaches has become unpopular, unloving, and is not even considered “Christian” by many today. Just attend a protest against abortion, or gay Pride Parades, and witness what “church” goers, even pastors do and say.
Read the words of Rob Pue (publisher of Wisconsin Christian News), all quotes following unless otherwise noted are from: A Licentious Nation of Pretend Christians
“Let me tell you what happens at one of these events. First there’s the parade itself. IN the parade, you will see many so-called “Christian churches” with floats adorned in rainbow colors, near-naked men dancing and gyrating on top of the floats, sometimes simulating sodomite sex, while others walk alongside, holding signs APOLOGIZING for the way “Christians” have treated sodomites. There will also be signs such as “LGBT families for Jesus,” “God thinks you’re fabulous,” “OUR church LOVES you!” “We embrace diversity.” And of course, “Love over hate.” These churches promise they are “open and affirming” of the sodomite death-style, and “ALL are welcome.” Of course, in their world, “ALL” never means “all.” When REAL Christians bring the message of forgiveness of God through humble repentance (the opposite of perverted PRIDE), these church-goers have no problem whatsoever showing us their middle finger and screaming vulgarities.”
“There is virtually NO opportunity, in an atmosphere like this, to speak one-on-one with anyone — oh they DO talk to us — but only to call us filthy, foul names, cast aspersions on OUR sexuality, our mothers, ANYTHING to elicit violence from us. And again, while we are being violently attacked by the sodomites, the police offer NO protection or equal rights or free speech for US. It’s “open season” on Christians.”
“What has happened to America? What sort of “inheritance” are we leaving to our children and grandchildren? As I’ve said before, “As go the pulpits, so goes the nation.” Even so-called “good” Bible-believing, Bible-preaching pastors and churches avoid all this like the plague. They WILL NOT speak on it. They REFUSE to instruct their congregants on what the Word of God has to say about sexual perversion and abomination. And so the people in the pews are sheep without shepherds. As the pastors focus on “happy fun time” with milquetoast VBS weeks, filled with fun and games, summer time church-wide cookouts, and loud, raucous rock bands as the people raise their hands and sway back and forth in what can only be described as vain “worship-tainment,” the people remain blissfully oblivious and apathetic to the whole world around them.”
The Church is becoming indistinguishable from the world; church is more like a social hour with coffee and donuts served. Everyone visits and attends a lackluster service that does not provide any solid biblical teaching let alone spiritual conviction.
The following two quotes are taken from my book, available on Amazon: Spiritual Darkness is Destroying America and the Church
“Still other churches say that God is a God of love, and therefore He would never refuse those who love Him, so they are gay, so what? Yes God is a God of love, but God is also a God of wrath and punishment for those who choose to defy Him. This is of course not taught in very many churches anymore. Way too many churches teach, “Itching ears theology.” What does that mean? The pastor(s) of the church basically teach only feel-good material while leaving out the serious issues taught in the Bible, things that are not popular and may offend – things like homosexuality is a sin, sex outside of marriage is a sin, God actually will punish sin, etc.”
“Bible illiteracy also carries with it another serious inherent danger: no defense against unbiblical teaching. If I were to tell a biblically sound body of people that Hell does not truly exist, no one would believe that nonsense for a second. If on the other hand I were to teach that false doctrine to a church body that has little to no knowledge of biblically sound doctrine, there is a fair chance that they would believe what I was saying.
Unbiblical doctrine is being taught in many of today’s churches and what is taught is believed, or at the very least tolerated. Churches are teaching that various parts of the Bible are made up, that it is ok for lesbians and homosexuals to be pastors, that Hell is not real, that Satan is not real, and on, and on. Some even teach that Christ is not God. I cannot even begin to describe to the reader how dangerous this is. The people in these churches are being led down the pathway to Hell and eternal damnation.”
Today’s Church is indeed very dark. The only recourse is to turn back to God, accepting what He says as truth, and dismissing the lies of the world. Unfortunately, the Church teaches more lies than truth today, or at the very least, the Church omits much of the truth so as to not “offend” anyone.
John 8:31-36 31 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
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About the author: Greg is a strong believer in Jesus Christ and is also a political analyst, author, and is the Editor-in-Chief for the National War Council. By day he is a self-employed non-emergency medical transport driver, as well as being an author and blogger. His articles are first published on Inspirational Christian Blogs, and I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ! His articles have been widely published on many well-known conservative websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so leaving all links intact and crediting the author and the website that the article appeared on.
Greg is the author of the newly released book: Spiritual Darkness is Destroying America and the Church
Categories: END TIMES / PROPHECY, FAITH FOR TODAY, FALSE DOCTRINE, OUTREACH, PERSECUTION, SPIRITUAL WARFARE, THE WORD OF GOD FOR TODAY
I pretty much agree with what you have said but in the world Christianity is spreading quite rapidly. In the USA, however, I feel like we have become what you talk about. As for me I will just keep marching on as He leads.