The Church of the King is broken and wasting away like someone who has a terminal disease with limited time to live.  I know, that sounds pretty grim, dark, and disgusting, but that is the reality of today’s Church.  Oh, the Church will endure until the end of time, never you doubt it for a moment, but what will this Church look like when the Lord comes calling?

The Church of old was never completely cohesive and on the straight and narrow of course, we are after all sinful human beings, but the Church of olden days was a far sight better than it is now.  For one thing, what was, and is the guiding doctrine of said Church was followed much more closely, doctrine held far more authority with people than it does today.  That doctrine of course being the Bible.  The Bible is the Word of God, following its decrees is not optional, people from yesteryear understood this concept far better than those in today’s fractured and ailing Church.

The willingness of churches today to step away from biblical doctrine, to follow only the parts of the Bible that the pastor and elders choose to follow is common – and the entire reason why the Church of today is so sick, divided, fractured, and weak.

Far too many so-called pastors, ministers etc., are not in it for Christ, rather they are in it for themselves.  When pastors are mega-millionaires, owning multi-million-dollar homes and private jets, we have a serious problem.  When pastors teach only the feel-good portions of Scripture, we have a serious problem.  When we as a church, with its selected leaders making unbiblical decisions – and the congregants either backing up these decisions, or being to ignorant or fearful to challenge those in “power,” then the Church has a disaster on its hands of biblical proportions.

Jesus never laid down guidelines for us to follow because He is a power-hungry egotistical jerk, He gave us guidance and rules to follow because that is what is best for us.  When the Church decides that its’ authority and wisdom eclipse that of our God, then the utter devastation and implosion of the Church is guaranteed, and in fact, it is already happening.  We are quite far along the path, the wide-spread destruction of the Church body – remember that Jesus said that the path is narrow, and few there are that find it.

¹ 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.  1 Timothy 4:1-3

¹ This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. ² For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³ without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, ⁴ traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 2 Timothy 3:1-4 

It is bad enough that most of today’s churches refuse to teach on many topics because of fear of “offending” someone, after all, people who are offended will not give their MONEY to the Church!  Worse yet, there are many so-called churches that teach complete falsehoods, things that are NOT found anywhere in the Scriptures, while simultaneously instituting their own made-made regulations that all are required to follow – just like the Pharisees of old.

The Church Cults

The Catholic Church taught that one could not eat meat on Fridays, this is completely ridiculous and unbiblical.

“In the United States, our bishops have insisted that we do penance of some sort on Fridays, even outside of Lent. While it used to be sinful to eat meat on Fridays (prior to 1966), that is no longer the case. The sin was not a matter of merely forgetting about abstaining. A person committed a sin by eating meat on Fridays out of contempt for the regulation. Contempt for holy things is always evil.”  (Source)

So, the stricture was relaxed somewhat, but the article goes on to say that “something” still needs to be sacrificed, so they are simply trading one thing for another!  In the above quote, the author states that eating meat on Fridays was a sin, so in other words, the Catholic church has the power and authority to determine what is and is not a sin?  I think not.  The author also states that contempt for holy things is evil, I would agree, but a man-made regulation is NOT holy.

The Catholic faith also teaches the false doctrine of Purgatory.  Basically, in the words of one author, even though our sins as Believers are forgiven by Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, we are of a necessity still “unclean,” and therefore we need to spend some time in Purgatory before we are allowed to move on into Heaven, so as to be completely pure.  This is utter rubbish, and completely unbiblical as well.

“The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as a “purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven,” which is experienced by those “who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified” (CCC 1030). It notes that “this final purification of the elect . . . is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1031).

The purification is necessary because, as Scripture teaches, nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven (Rev. 21:27) and, while we may die with our mortal sins forgiven, there can still be many impurities in us, specifically venial sins and the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven.”  (Source)

First off, if we as Believers need to be further “purified” after the redemptive and restoring work of Christ, then it is implied that the act of salvation through Jesus Christ is incomplete, ineffective, and less than perfect.  This also implies strongly to those who follow the Word of God that the very idea of salvation through Jesus Christ alone is invalid, it is not enough.  This is of course preposterous!  If Jesus isn’t enough to save us, why then do we bother to trust in Him?  What else that we are taught in the Bible is a falsehood?

Either we are saved by grace, or we are not.  Either we are saved by the redemptive work of Christ and Him alone – or we are saved by our own hand, by our own efforts.  You can’t have it both ways!

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.  Ephesians 2:8-9

I think the message in the above two verses is VERY clear, WE, have absolutely nothing to do with our salvation.  The attempt to make a spiritual end-run around this by stating that, “well yes, we are forgiven by God, BUT we are still just a little bit dirty” – is utter frivolity, baseless, and a sin.

“⁸ we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

Note the above verse does not say that to be absent from the body is to make a stop in Purgatory first, and then be with the Lord.  When we die, we who are saved, we are immediately in the presence of the Lord, there are no stops in between.

Catholics also teach that their priests can forgive sin; you confess, the priest tells you what you must do for penance, and just like that, you are forgiven – except that sin can ONLY ever be forgiven by God, not a man.

The Catholic Church is ever attempting to insert itself and its’ authority between men and God – exactly like the Pharisees did in the Gospel accounts.  To ensure that the masses are reminded of their place and understand this “authority,” the higher ups like bishops etc. have titles, “your eminence,” “your excellency” etc.  Then there is the ridiculous custom of kissing their rings.  Catholic priests also claim the title “Father,” which Jesus specifically warned against doing.

“⁹ And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”  Matthew 23:9

It’s not that calling someone father is wrong, but it is wrong to insist as a servant of God that you be called “Father,” that is arrogant and claiming what is not rightfully yours to claim.  Are you serving the Lord, or are you puffing up your own importance in the eyes of other men while serving yourself?

It is also the Catholic Pope who claims that Christians and Muslims worship the same God!

Question:

Pope Benedict XVI has stated that Muslims worship the same God as Christians do. Is this just his private opinion?

Answer:

No. The Second Vatican Council taught that Muslims worship the one true God  (Source)

• God – forgive those who have wronged you, pray for your enemies.
• Muslim god – kill all who disrespect the faith, kill any who leave it, kill the Jews and people of the book (Christians).
• NOT the same God!

The Mormon Church equates their “holy book” with the same status as that of the Scriptures, that book of course being the Book of Mormon.

The Mormons teach that their founder, Joseph Smith had a vision in which he saw two divine beings appear to him, one was God the Father, and the other Jesus Christ.  These two “beings” gave Smith divine revelations, including: all other churches were wrong in their beliefs.  Smith also claimed more than a few things that are WAY outside the boundaries of what the Bible teaches.

“Humanized deity  Belief in a plurality of gods, who preexisted as material spirits, is foundational to LDS belief. The God of this world was once a man who became a god. Smith said: “God himself was once as we are now and is an exalted man. . . . We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea. . . . God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did.” As God ascended to godhood, so also righteous men and women can become gods. This idea was summarized by former church president Lorenzo Snow like this: “As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be.

Atonement and afterlife Mormons believe that Jesus is the Redeemer who died on the cross not to atone for sin but to guarantee the resurrection of all people. After death, people’s souls go to the spirit world, where they await the resurrection and final judgment. There are three levels of glory to which people may be assigned after the final judgment depending on their acceptance of and obedience to Mormon teachings and ordinances: the telestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, and the celestial kingdom. The outer darkness is reserved for those who do not attain to one of those levels of glory.”  (Source)

Our God at one time was just a man, so YOU too can become a god!  Where did Smith get this utterly preposterous notion from?  It surely did not come from our God, who he claims gave him a vision, as well as golden plates to interpret, which became the Book of Mormon.  Anyone having a vision from God, well, it would be in line with the Bible, no exceptions, and Smith’s so-called vision reads more like a tale of fantasy then truth.

Jesus did not die for your sin, oh no!  Instead, He died so that we could claim a place in one of three realms after death.  Notice this is contingent upon following the teachings of Joseph Smith.  In the first place this is ridiculous, and secondly, Smith has no say in what happens, the Lord does.  This, is classic cult manipulation.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses are anything BUT witnesses for God.  It is great that they want to witness to others about the Lord, except that the Lord and God they profess to witness for does not exist, not in the Bible anyway.  This is yet another cult that requires that you must follow their teachings, and woe betide to you if you don’t, worse if you try to leave, you will likely be harassed.

The most egregious sin of the JW’s is that they do NOT believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, Jesus is merely a man to them, important, but still just a man.

“⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  John 14:6

How can anyone read that verse and believe that Jesus is NOT God?  God is going to state that the ONLY way to Him is through a MAN?  A man we have to believe in to gain access to the Father?  A man who is able to intercede for us with the Father?  How ridiculous.

“²³ Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.”  1 John 2:23

Matthew Henry: “Every man is an antichrist, who denies the Person, or any of the offices of Christ; and in denying the Son, he denies the Father also, and has no part in his favour while he rejects his great salvation.”  (Source)

One literally, per Scripture, cannot claim to worship and belong to God the Father, while denying His Son, who also is God.  This view alone (That Jesus is not God) qualifies the JW’s as apostates.

The JW’s also teach that most of the people that go to their version of “Heaven” will live on Earth in “paradise,” only 144,000 will go to Heaven.  Obviously, the 144,000 are JW’s, and what they are referring to is from Revelation 7:4-8.  This is not true, first, the 144,000 are Jewish, selected from the twelve tribes of Israel.  Further, the Bible, also in Revelation, clearly teaches that God will remake the Earth, and ALL of His people will live there with Him.

The JW’s also teach that Jesus did not in fact have “all authority” given to Him right away as Jesus so stated in the Gospels.  Instead, Jesus had to wait until October 1914 to have that authority.  That is NOT what the Bible teaches.

“¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”  Matthew 28:18

Jesus, in the above verse was speaking to His disciples before His Ascension, note that this verse says “all power is given unto me,” present tense, there is no qualifier in this verse that would lead us to believe that this event (All power in Heaven and on Earth being given to Jesus), is a future event.

The Church Today

The real problem is that the world of Christendom will no longer tolerate solid biblical truth and unequivocally support the absolute veracity of the Scriptures.  People would rather be told fairy tales and enjoy their coffee and donuts while hearing such foolishness.  No one wants to hear the hard truth of the Bible anymore, no “fire and brimstone” preaching here, no sir, just watered-down feel-good messages that make church seem more like going to a “Christian” social club than a serious Bible based church interested in learning about and proclaiming the truth of the Risen Lord.

This is not how “Church” used to be, nor is it supposed to be; this weak, useless, biblically illiterate good-for-nothing vessel without honor has no place in the King’s Church.  The Church was never intended to be a mouthpiece for whoever led whatever denomination, or whatever pastor headed up the local church – the Church had one purpose and one ONLY; that purpose was to preach the Gospel – ALL of the Gospel message, and to disciple new Believers.

There was once a fantastic preacher of the Word, he was also an unbelievably dedicated missionary.  Evangelism and teaching God’s Word was not a job, it was a lifestyle.  He wrote many authoritative books about God.  He was involved in some riots and demonstrations, argued vehemently with some church leaders, he was in prison numerous times, and had many disputes with authorities.  Many different people tried to kill him.

This preacher was the Apostle Paul, and ironically, he doubtless would not be welcome in very many of today’s churches, and worse yet, Jesus Himself would be shown the door and asked not to come back.

The Church needs to turn itself back to its first love – Jesus Christ, forsaking ministry for MONEY, false teaching, feel-good sermons, support for abortion and misplaced LGBTQ loyalties among many other things.

The Church is to be based solely on the Word of God, NOT the words of men.