From A Seed Sower, in New Zealand I believe.
*UPDATE*
check out Paul’s new blog
http://iftruthbeknown.wordpress.com/
War on the Saints
Never since the days of the Reformation has there been such pressure upon the true body of Christ. No longer can a man even speak of being a Christian without making some form of doctrinal clarification to define what he means. Protestant Christianity is in an absolute upheaval as the majority of the prominent leaders claiming to represent the true Christian church tend to be liars, cheats or teachers of dubious doctrine.
The Bible itself as God’s infallible Word is bombarded daily by false accusations questioning its credibility, authenticity, accuracy and recently its clarity. ( The argument is that the scripture may be God’s word but who can truly understand what it is saying??)
The Deity of Christ is questioned and rejected in many sectors. The virgin birth of Christ is scoffed at. The doctrine of hell is no longer taught by those embarrassed at its reality. Many reject it altogether. Men claiming to be the restored apostles and prophets are now a dime a dozen and the heretical nonsense that they spew out is not worth a dime. Sin is rarely mentioned and error of judgement is the preferred condition of man before the Holy God. Man has become elevated to the lofty position of lord of the earth and the One enthroned in heaven can do little without the interaction and partnership of his church. The Lord God Almighty can now be addressed as Allah. Many call God Papa or Daddy and their familiarity with the Almighty has bred the inevitable contempt towards His terrifying holiness. Music that stirs the emotions has replaced the actual presence of God by his Holy Spirit. Man for all intents and purposes has been deified for almost every sermon is geared towards how man can become more blessed. Preachers have forsaken the scriptures and become personal coaches using the modern pop psychology of self improvement. The unity of heretical doctrines under the banner of a new age Jesus is the One untouchable golden Cow in today’s modern apostate church. The Pentecostal and charismatic’s have immersed themselves with the New Age movement. The Holy Spirit has been replaced by a deceiving spirit for the most part and very few cry foul!
Many traditional denominations have blessed same sex unions and so have blessed what God deems an abomination. Lev 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Worse in my opinion are the traditional denominations that have remained silent and not delivered a clarion call concerning the righteousness of God and the sanctity of the church. These cowards do more damage in the long run as they string along many misguided saints who are not ready to break fellowship with their traditional church as long as they do not directly approve of what is evil. The fruit of this is an ineffective witness and a snail paced apostasy.
Cowardly pastors should not be in the pulpits today. May the God of scripture judge them for they have done more damage by their people pleasing, world loving silence than the legions of hell who have been unleashed upon the saints.
Papal Rome has all but conquered the reformation. Protestantism has been sold out by such traitors as the Billy Graham association and Chuck Colson’s Evangelicals and Catholics together organisation. Some of the evangelical signatories of that abomination included Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ, Os Guinness of the Trinity Forum, Richard Mouw of Fuller theological Seminary , Mark Noll of Wheaton College , Jim Packer of Regent College, Pat Robertson of Larry Lewis of the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Richard Land of the Christian Life Commission, Jesse Miranda of the Assemblies of God, and John White of Geneva College.
Somewhere between Vatican Two ( 1962 ) and 1994 these so called Christian leaders must have concluded that Rome preaches a gospel of salvation for they agreed that they would cease to attempt to convert the Roman catholic faithful to the true religion of biblical Christianity. They in essence helped seal the fate of the hundreds of millions of Catholics by refusing to preach the truth to them.
In a nutshell the church is at rock bottom. All that can get worse will be the increasing measure of the evil mentioned above. I ought to be weeping but an ugly spin off that the scripture mentions is that the love in my heart has grown cold.
Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. May the Lord soften my own angry heart so that I might pray for the saints rather than prey upon them.
What then can be done or what will the end of this be? Surely the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is one of hope. Where sin abounds grace also abounds, so says the apostle Paul.
Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
There is an abundance of grace for the Saint who grieves at the church’s current state. The rejection, isolation, separation misunderstanding and accusations that become our daily bread are in essence our crown in glory. We are sharing in the sufferings of Christ. As the writer to the Hebrews has well put it.
Hebrews 13:12 -14 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
The Lord Jesus suffered outside the camp and this needs to be our current estate while within the camp apostasy abounds. We in our rejection and isolation are in good company. Currently our pain is the payment for our eternal crown. One that some day by God’s grace we can lay at the feet of our saviour when we see him in his glory. We ought to be rejoicing for we have been found worthy of suffering for His names sake.
It is possible that once again the Lord may decree a final reformation of biblical orthodoxy but if he chooses not to then things will certainly get worse. When Elijah thought that he alone stood against the spiritual whorings of Israel, the Lord informed Him that seven thousand had not bowed the knee to, or kissed the hand of Baal. Biblical Christian you are not alone! Elisha’s servant thought so when the city of Dothan was surrounded. He was wrong!
2 Kings 6:15-17 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
Whatever the future unfolds we must pray for grace to persevere and be a bold witness regardless of the cost. These are days in which the true saints of God will shine like the stars in the universe. The current evil around us is actually making the mediocre flicker of our candle shine like a lighthouse on a moonless night.
There is indeed war being waged against the saints but tell me friend when has there ever not been? As the Psalmist says:
Psalm 149: 5-9 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; 7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; 8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.
Have no fear Christian, we win in the end.
by Paul Gowdy
Printed by permission.
I rarely watch television anymore.
Remember the old Dick Van Dyke Show? Laura and Dick could only be shown in twin beds. How times have changed. Today, some of the favorite TV characters and personalities have become beloved solely for their homosexuality. People laugh and tolerate the sinful lifestyle.
The church has succombed to this tolerance. The ELCA of the Lutheran church has declared that homosexuals can preach from the pulpit. Those who reject this resolution are being persecuted by the church itself by accusations of being unloving and intolerant. I know this first hand, for I am one being persecuted by the rejection of the ELCA and leaving my current church. I have gay friends. I do love them. I love them enough not to alter the truth. That the Bible says their lifestyle is an abomination to Him.
It may be difficult to stand up and hold to biblical truth. But one must.
My accusers call me divisive. Yes, they are right. I am dividing and separating myself from the world.
Please read:
TELEVISION IS A SLIPPERY SLOPE – David Cloud
It is getting progressively worse, and the majority of Christian homes are succumbing to Hollywood’s siren song. Like the frog in the gradually-heated pot, God’s people who are careless about separating from Hollywood’s filthy fare become desensitized by it.
A missionary friend was eating a meal with a fundamental Baptist pastor and his wife some years ago when the topic of the movie Titanic (rated PG-13) came up. When the missionary expressed his opinion that the movie is ungodly, the pastor’s wife said that they had seen it and had enjoyed it. The missionary asked what they thought of the nudity in the movie, and the pastor’s wife said it was “tastefully done.”
This illustrates how worldly many fundamental Baptist churches have become. If pastors and their wives are enjoying movies featuring premarital affairs and partial nudity, what are the other members of the church watching!
The Bible says the pastor is to be the example to the flock (1 Peter 5:3). Woe unto those multitudes of worldly pastors and deacons and Sunday School teachers who are comfortable with Hollywood’s cesspool and who do not teach their people the fear of God and separation from the world.
source –
Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2010, http://www.wayoflife.org
Come to Christ! by Paul Washer
If you don’t know Jesus or if you have lost your way, watch this video
Back in March 2007 I contacted the publisher of Alpha Omega Report because I knew he lived near Kansas City. I was researching IHOP. This is what he told me:
Believe it or not, despite their rhetoric, they are a non-factor in the KC area and most people, including most ministers either have no clue they exist or have only vaguely heard of them. I think this is primarlly because they are viewed as a “cult” or “cult-like” in nature and are or have been pretty-well marginalized.
This may have been true at the time but now we can see this is changing.
GOD TV is Now Carrying the IHOP-KC Renewal – from Slaughter of the Sheep
What started out as the “Student Awakening” at Mike Bickle’s International House of Prayer (IHOP) is now being billed as the IHOP-KC Renewal by God TV, who will be carrying the “revival” starting in January. If you’ll rewind to a little over a year and a half ago, God TV was implicit in bringing the Lakeland Outpouring to gullible sheep around the globe. As has been proven in the past, God TV’s Wendy and Rory Alec will jump on anything that will spread the wildfire of mystical heresy around the world. They apparently don’t want to be left out of this latest move.
When the Student Awakening was being carried via live webstream they were able to reach many around the world, but with God TV picking up the feed, there will be almost a half a BILLION households added to the audience. That figure staggers the imagination. That’s like pouring gasoline on an already out of control fire.
Full Story HERE
Every Christmas season we sing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”
But is this correct? Did the angels sing? Let’s look.
Luke 2:13-14
“And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Next please read this fine article from Guarding His Flock
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The Night of Nights
by Pastor Larry for Christmas
As reenacted in nativity scenes and Christmas pageants down through the history of western civilization, in various ways this story, whether in part or whole, is told:
God promised Israel a coming Messiah. God chose a teenage virgin to be the mother of Israel’s promised Messiah. The virgin was engaged to a young and moral carpenter. A crisis pregnancy occurred. An angel of the Lord alerted Joseph that Mary’s child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Angels announced Messiah’s birth to shepherds on a night vigil near a little Judean town of Bethlehem. Magi from the East visited the infant. To preserve the rights of his royal family to reign, paranoid King Herod ordered infanticide.
On the very night of our Savior’s birth, Luke, a physician turned historian, records that, “there were some shepherds out in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8). Possessing gnarled and scared hands and countenancing weather-beaten faces, these ordinary men worked the grave-yard shift protecting their sheep, some of which were probably marked to be eventually sacrificed at the temple six miles distant. With slings, crooked staffs, and studded clubs, these men risked their lives to protect their sheep from predatory animals and criminal rustlers. Unbeknownst to them, one particular night was a holy night. The sheep were resting comfortably. The only sound that penetrated the quiet night was an occasional “baaaa!” of a sheep. Whether standing or sitting, these nameless shepherds breathed in the crisp night air as they fought off sleep’s beckoning call. It was a night like many others until . . . .
The night sky suddenly exploded with the light of God’s glory, a bright light that revealed the menacing form of an angel standing nearby. The sight of the angel terrorized these veteran guardians of the night. Had the angel of death come for them? This season, Hallmark will design, print, distribute and sell millions of Christmas cards. Many of these cards will bear images of cuddly, winged, and romantic looking angels. I doubt that any will bear the intimidating visage of “an angel from the Lord” who frightened to death those veteran shepherd-warriors, and who therefore uttered to them, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 2:9-10).
In contrast to the warm and fuzzy feelings people experience during this time of year, it might strike a disconcerting note to even the casual reader of the gospels that fear was a pervasive emotion of the first Christmas. Matthew records that, “[A]n angel of the Lord appeared to [Joseph] in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife’” (Matthew 1:20). When he saw an angel of the Lord, Luke records that, “And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zacharias’” (Luke 1:12-13). The angel also told Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:30). Contact with the supernatural angel from the Lord was unnerving. Maybe we have come to feel too cozy with the Christmas story. Perhaps we ought to be a bit more unnerved when we hear the recounting of when God visited this planet in the form of an infant who upon reaching mature manhood, would be crucified for the sins of His people.
The shepherds were ordinary men God allowed to experience an extraordinary visitation that night. James S. Stewart asks, “And is there not a world of meaning in the fact that it was very ordinary people, busy about ordinary tasks, whose eyes first saw the coming of the Lord?” Then he answers,
It means, first, that the place of duty, however humble, is the place of vision. And it means, second, that it is men who have kept to the deep, simple pieties of life and have not lost the child heart to whom the gates of the Kingdom most readily open.
To these herdsmen, God first entrusted the Good News that a baby had been born nearby during their night vigil, an infant “Savior who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). That Baby lying in an animal feeding trough signaled to them the birth of God’s only Messiah (See Romans 10:9-10.).
To these shepherds God first entrusted the gospel message, and it was their vocation that would provide the intimate and pastoral illustration of Jesus’ relationship with His followers. He is the Good Shepherd who calls and cares for those sheep who “hear his voice” (John 10:1-14). And for reason of His care for us, we need not fear either.
source
http://guardinghisflock.com/?p=657
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Okay….does it really say in the Bible that Jonah was swallowed by a whale?
LUTHERANS SPLITTING FROM LIBERAL DENOMINATION
(Friday Church News Notes, December 4, 2009, http://www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) –
The liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is splitting over the issue of the ordination of homosexuals. On November 18 a group of Lutherans called CORE (Coalition for Renewal) voted to form a new Lutheran denomination in response to the decision this summer by the ELCA to allow “openly practicing homosexuals” to serve as pastors (“Lutherans Splitting,” Baptist Press, Nov. 25, 2009).
It is not yet certain how many churches will join the new group, as it takes a two-thirds vote for a congregation to leave the ELCA. Some 1,200 supporters of CORE met in late September to show their support for the split.
Eight years ago me and my husband began looking for a church in our area. While sitting in the back row of a Lutheran church as a visitor, I felt the Lord tug at my heart to be a “reader”. This is someone who reads scripture up front during the service. Okay…I thought, I have to be a member to do this. We joined.
You know how it goes once you join a church, you are asked to be part of the many activities and functions which was fine, but the interaction also revealed how many did not believe scripture. There are members who do not believe the verse John 14:6. The revelation was shocking to me. I wondered….why did the Lord lead me here?
Over two years ago we were blessed with a new pastor. I went to him asking to please…please preach the gospel and the truth from the scriptures. He did. When the ELCA voted in the new resolution he resigned from the ELCA risking his salary and pension, trusting in the Lord for provision.
I would like to add that there are some wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ who remain in the ELCA, and who do not agree with the resolution. To those I pray that you make a difference and remain true to the Word of God. Speak boldly and like Paul be not ashamed of the Gospel.
Our congregation does not officially have a two-thirds vote, so some of us have found a new location, and with the guidelines set out by CORE and the LCMC we intend to have a confessional Lutheran church.
Of course, the issue of homosexuality, is really just the tip of the iceberg. Under the surface of the water lies the true foundation of what is sinking all churches, all denominations, across the nations. We find in the murky water, the denial of creation, destruction of marriage and family by divorce and sexual immorality, the blending of false religions with Christianity, lack of knowledge of scripture and its authority, denial of Christ’s deity, inclusion instead of separation, and then… a weak and compromised Gospel.
Many who study prophecy might agree with me on this next thought. I believe the Lord is testing to see who really belongs to Him because the day of the Lord is near.
Joshua 24:14-15
Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
CORE
http://www.lutherancore.org/com_conf.shtml
And the LCMC
Here is the document
Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.
We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:
1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.
Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
http://manhattandeclaration.org/
At first glance, the three stated truths are good, but what is missing here?
Here is what John MacArthur says:
By John MacArthur
Here are the main reasons I am not signing the Manhattan Declaration, even though a few men whom I love and respect have already affixed their names to it:
• Although I obviously agree with the document’s opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion, and other key moral problems threatening our culture, the document falls far short of identifying the one true and ultimate remedy for all of humanity’s moral ills: the gospel. The gospel is barely mentioned in the Declaration. At one point the statement rightly acknowledges, “It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season”—and then adds an encouraging wish: “May God help us not to fail in that duty.” Yet the gospel itself is nowhere presented (much less explained) in the document or any of the accompanying literature. Indeed, that would be a practical impossibility because of the contradictory views held by the broad range of signatories regarding what the gospel teaches and what it means to be a Christian.
• This is precisely where the document fails most egregiously. It assumes from the start that all signatories are fellow Christians whose only differences have to do with the fact that they represent distinct “communities.” Points of disagreement are tacitly acknowledged but are described as “historic lines of ecclesial differences” rather than fundamental conflicts of doctrine and conviction with regard to the gospel and the question of which teachings are essential to authentic Christianity.
• Instead of acknowledging the true depth of our differences, the implicit assumption (from the start of the document until its final paragraph) is that Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant Evangelicals and others all share a common faith in and a common commitment to the gospel’s essential claims. The document repeatedly employs expressions like “we [and] our fellow believers”; “As Christians, we . . .”; and “we claim the heritage of . . . Christians.” That seriously muddles the lines of demarcation between authentic biblical Christianity and various apostate traditions.
• The Declaration therefore constitutes a formal avowal of brotherhood between Evangelical signatories and purveyors of different gospels. That is the stated intention of some of the key signatories, and it’s hard to see how secular readers could possibly view it in any other light. Thus for the sake of issuing a manifesto decrying certain moral and political issues, the Declaration obscures both the importance of the gospel and the very substance of the gospel message.
• This is neither a novel approach nor a strategic stand for evangelicals to take. It ought to be clear to all that the agenda behind the recent flurry of proclamations and moral pronouncements we’ve seen promoting ecumenical co-belligerence is the viewpoint Charles Colson has been championing for more than two decades. (It is not without significance that his name is nearly always at the head of the list of drafters when these statements are issued.) He explained his agenda in his 1994 book The Body, in which he argued that the only truly essential doctrines of authentic Christian truth are those spelled out in the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds. I responded to that argument at length in Reckless Faith. I stand by what I wrote then.
In short, support for The Manhattan Declaration would not only contradict the stance I have taken since long before the original “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” document was issued; it would also tacitly relegate the very essence of gospel truth to the level of a secondary issue. That is the wrong way—perhaps the very worst way—for evangelicals to address the moral and political crises of our time. Anything that silences, sidelines, or relegates the gospel to secondary status is antithetical to the principles we affirm when we call ourselves evangelicals.
John MacArthur
Whatever Happened to the Gospel?
by Paul Gowdy
For the past number of years I have noticed some subtle changes in how the evangelical church presents the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I suspect that this has been a case of the frog in the kettle syndrome – slowly increase the heat and little Kermit will just stay there until he has been boiled to death! I am not sure if this is true or not and do not, under any circumstances recommend anyone try!
I suspect that the same slow increase in heat has been applied to the western evangelical Church. About a quarter of a century ago, as a teenage boy, I became a follower of Jesus. Indeed, a truly born again Christian and a committed disciple of Christ. I saw “the light”, got saved and my lifestyle changed. Call my conversion whatever you like, God through the power of the Holy Spirit entered my life and transformed my life completely. I willingly surrendered myself to the Lordship of Jesus whom I confessed to be the Son of God and Lord of all creation.
What brought about this radical transformation? It was the faith released within my heart as a result of the simple proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was told that: (1) Jesus was the Son of God; (2) that He created everything including me; (3) that He came to earth becoming a man in order to save all men; (4) that He being fully God and fully man gave His life, shedding His precious blood as a ransom for my sin and the sins of humanity by dying upon a cross; (5) that His sacrifice was acceptable to atone for sin and appease the wrath of God the Father; (6) that He rose from the dead and conquered death, proving His divinity and the scriptures, in order that we might have hope who die in the Lord that we also shall have a glorious resurrection; and (7) that for those who trust in Him and confess Him as Lord He grants unto us forgiveness of sins and adoption as sons and eternal life!
As the Scripture says: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not by works, lest any man should boast. Eph. 2:8-9
This is the same Gospel that many, but not all, preach today. So what is the difference? There is more to the Gospel than what I have just mentioned above and the subtlety in the change is not necessarily what is proclaimed, rather what is the truth that is omitted.
A Gospel without mention of Hell. Twenty-four years ago when I became a Christian, I did hear the information posted above but I also heard a little more. I heard that the wages of sin is death! I believe much of the church fails to preach the Gospel by the withholding of primary information. The death that sin brings is not only physical death, for all men die physically, but spiritual death where men are separated from God for eternity and condemned to Hell for ever. The doctrine of the eternal punishment of the wicked is so horrific that there are few today who actually preach it. Yet Jesus preached about Hell. To fail to warn men of the horrors of Hell is to fail to preach the gospel in its entirety.
Jesus said that a man should do what ever it takes to avoid going to this evil place. He said that it was better to enter Heaven with one eye or one hand than to have both hands and sin with them or both eyes and sin with them. The reason for this is because if we continue sinning with our eyes and hands and do not repent we will end up burning in hell for eternity! Jesus in no way espouses people cutting off hands or poking out eyes. His point is that Hell is so horrific that mankind needs to do what ever it takes to avoid going there.
Thankfully, the vehicle for sinful man to come into relationship with Christ is the gift of repentance. This means that when a person hears the good news about who Jesus is, what He has done on the cross and the gift of forgiveness and eternal life that He offers, that person can turn away from their evil, selfish, sinful lifestyle and turn to the living God by trusting in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour! This is repentance and is considered by the Holy God as a gift, a vehicle to bring us into relationship with God the Father.
Sadly, and to the shame of the church today, a gospel is preached that does not proclaim the sinfulness of man. Men are no longer sinners – but have just made wrong choices! I am convinced that the wicked motive behind this shift is simply that the modern church refuses to carry the shame and stigma associated with standing for the Truth. To proclaim the Truth as the Scriptures teaches it would be the death knell to the seeker-sensitive, packed out auditoriums that have become the Nirvana of the modern church growth movement! The modern church refuses to preach the Truth because the fear of man is stronger than the fear of God!
Men are no longer called sinners so they see no reason to have to repent! Alas, repentance is deemed a negative and the church is only obsessed with preaching a positive message! Worst of all, no one preaches about the fires of Hell any longer. The post-modern church does not wish to think about such doctrine. ‘Anyway,’ they say, ‘if we can persuade men to just say a prayer of acceptance, asking Jesus into their hearts and granting them eternal life then they are not going to Hell! So why mention it?’
If any mention of Hell is omitted from the Gospel, lost souls would not understand the results of their continuing in sin. If they do not understand the “wages of sin is death,” they can not comprehend that the “gift” of eternal life is only for those who freely accept what God has offered. In exchange for eternal damnation, He offers us eternity with Him.
The very first thing that Jesus said when he came out of the desert to start His public ministry was “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Mt. 4:17
The last thing that Jesus said before His ascension was: . that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations.. . Lk 24:47
Paul, when speaking to the Greeks on Mars Hill said: And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. Acts 17:30-31
According to the next verse, some mocked, and others said,: “We will hear thee again of this matter.” Where do you stand on this very serious issue as we enter the New Year. The church today needs to wake up! Paul says that the resurrection of Christ from the dead is the evidence that there is coming a judgement, therefore all men are commanded to REPENT! The pastor and/or leader who omits this truth is nothing less than a traitor to his Lord!
The watered-down gospel that the church proclaims today does a marvellous job of creating backsliders. Some statistics suggest 19 out of every 20 people who say the ’salvation prayer’ (or the sinners prayer) end up backsliding! (I would suggest that is because only 5% of the church are actually preaching the Gospel!)
The answer is very simple. The Gospel is not being proclaimed and men and women are not truly repenting of their sins. When Jesus does not become Lord of a person’s life, all that transpires is that more heathen join the ranks of people who confess, “Oh I tried Jesus, It did not work for me!”
When the sinfulness of man, the horrors of Hell and gift of repentance are included in the Gospel we present, men and women are truly saved! It doesn’t matter if thousands are packing out huge arenas that give live entertainment and everyone goes home feeling good. What is happening is that the so-called ministry is promoted, the pastor has “star” quality and the money is flowing. The truth is – multitudes are not coming to true faith in Christ. No, they are not really saved.
If the church fails to preach the once and for all Gospel entrusted to the saints – genuine Christianity could die out with this generation. I pray that God grips your heart Christian! If you are reading this, my prayer is that you may you be one who, without shame or compromise, will carry the Cross and proclaim God’s Truth until He comes.
source:
Please watch the preview of this video.
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