Willful Sin (Part VI)

By: Frances Swaggart

I fully intended for last month’s article to be the last in this series entitled, “Willful Sin,” thinking that as people read about the blatant misinterpretations of Scripture being used in the church today, it would cause them to slow down and think.  Surely, they would start listening more closely to what is being taught in their churches and begin to, not only pay attention to what their preachers are saying, but to research what is behind this false direction most are traveling in.  Maybe they would begin to ask themselves, “Have I placed too much trust in my pastor?”  “Has my pastor placed blind faith in denominational leadership?”  “Have I forgotten Jesus told us that the enemy would sow tares among the wheat?” (Mat. 13:25).  I had also hoped there would still be enough Christians “hungering and thirsting after righteousness,” who would fully understand that in order to experience the “fullness of the Faith,” and the “meat of the Word,” Scripture must be interpreted accurately. 

Fit In?

I’m discovering several things though.  For one, most professing Christians are practically incapable of recognizing false doctrine because they simply have not learned the true Doctrines found in the Word of God.  But, what is research, Bible Study, or the prayer closet compared to a good “Christian” fiction novel, right?  “Christian” entertainments/activities feed our flesh, so we don’t recognize our spirits are still “hungry.”  I also see another powerful force taking precedence above the God-given motivation to study and understand Scripture – human relationships!  Clearly, peer pressure does not end in our youth.  Far too many professing Christians today prefer to “get along” and “fit in” with the religious crowd, rather than obey Christ’s instructions to investigate, understand, and contend for the purity of God’s Word despite any disagreements which might ensue.  Far too many profess loyalty to God, yet, at the same time, refuse to let go of human camaraderie if necessary.  Time and again, “believers” unashamedly demonstrate a preference for family and friends above the opportunity for a closer relationship with their Saviour! 

This nepotistic attitude toward our own human family is indeed one of the greatest acts of idolatry taking place in the church world today!  We are taught to love each other more than we are taught to love God, and it’s controlling our ability to judge righteously and speak the truth.  We wonder, “If I have fewer friends, won’t that mean fewer opportunities for my children?”  But, again, idolatry!  Even our children are not to come before our obedience to Christ.  If we obey Christ, He will take care of our families.  If people would only investigate and compare what they are being taught to the authentic teachings of Scripture, they would see that while some of the language appears to be the same, the definitions, beliefs, applications, and perspectives behind most modern teachings are anything but what the Lord intended.  They would find that a multitude of additions and dimensions, layer upon layer, have been added to Scripture, more than they could have ever imagined!  But, in the blinded eyes of so many, the misuse of Scripture is best ignored, because, to them, any sort of conflict with the “brethren” is deemed far worse.  You see, idolatry brings its own form of morality, which, most often, has nothing to do with the morals taught in Scripture.

Don’t Confuse Me With The Truth!

Here is an email I received: “We belong to a Pentecostal church that is very traditional in nature and we agree with a lot of what Jimmy preaches and we have his Bible. However I can no longer abide the constant criticism you and Donnie heap on all churches.  Listening to you, one would think the church is the enemy and not Satan.  In the book, ‘The Heavenly Man:  The Remarkable True Story Of Chinese Christian Brother Yun’, a Chinese Christian leader said, he preferred the oppression from the communists rather than having to deal with the ‘church of America,’ which has turned on itself, leaving the way to discredit all who preach anywhere under any banner.

“I have been a Christian for almost 70 years and have Pentecostal preachers, lifelong C&MA missionaries, and Salvationists in my family.  All of whom think you are off-base.  So rather than have your divisive articles pollute our minds with your hatred of the church, we simply won’t read you anymore.  I love the Lord and I love His church.  And I won’t sit in judgment of them, that’s God’s job, mine is to love the brethren.”

Divisive?

Notice this man says he has been a Christian for nearly 70 years, and not once does he refer to what the Bible teaches.  Instead, he chooses to believe what his family and friends believe.  Ironically, he claims he will not sit in judgment of the brethren, yet, he blatantly judges, not just what I’m teaching, but the actual motives of my heart.  He presumes to tell me that I have “hatred of the church.”  If he truly thinks that it’s God’s job alone to judge, then I have to ask him, “Why are you judging me?”  “ How do you know the condition of my heart?”  When I judge, I am judging what is being taught from the pulpit and/or the fruit of a ministry, not the minister’s heart.  Now, if this man wants to define my articles as “divisive,” then I’ll have to accept that charge, because I remind him the Bible is also divisive. 

Matthew 10:34-37 states:  “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth (the entrance of Christ into the world manifests the evil of the heart):  I came not to send peace, but a sword (the sword against the Righteous will be the response of religious reprobates).  For I am come to set a man at variance (odds) against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household (speaks not only of immediate family, but at times, of one’s Church family).  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me (Christ must come first in all things):  and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me (worthy to receive what I did for him at the Cross).”I could quote other Scriptures, but I will not due to space.  Even a menial search, though, will bring forth many other verses showing that the Bible is divisive by nature. 

The Word of God

The Bible is also a discerner.  Hebrews 4:12 states:  “For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  Simply put, Light exposes darkness.  Hiding from Light, supposedly for the sake of “loving” our brothers, won’t help anybody.  If we all remain blind, we will all fall in the ditch!  Tragically, what this dear man and many others do not discern is the agenda that’s behind this message of “love” the modern church is embracing.  This is really the New Age type of love, not the type of Love taught in the Bible.  This counterfeit “gospel” embraces all things, not only all religions, but all of creation.  You see, New Agers believe there is no sin; hence, there is no right or wrong.  If you believe something is right, then, to you, it is right.  This makes man his own god, as it is Satan’s goal to destroy any and all submission to the One True God.  God’s Love, taught to us in Scripture, is totally different.  It is based on what is true and factual about God, and what He, as a Holy God, deems is right and wrong.  God, Himself, is Love, so the more Truth of God we preach to others, the more Love of God we are giving them. 

Jesus Christ And Him Crucified!

Willow Creek Community Church just published a recent series of articles calling for a “just” Christmas.  Now, Christmas is supposed to be the time of year that the Birth of our Saviour, “Jesus Christ,” is celebrated, but we must understand that this Miraculous Event is not about social justice or fairness.  It’s about God compassionately providing an undeserving world with a Saviour.  So, “making things right” in the world is the wrong message for the church to be sending.  God is the only One entitled to justice – not the poor, the lonely, or the stranger.  It is God Who has been wronged through sin, and the world needs to reconcile to Him.  It is not the mission of the church to try to demonstrate God’s Love through social works.  God’s Love is found within a message, Jesus Christ and Him Crucified!  Many secular, non-Christian groups work to serve the poor and lonely, so one does not have to be a Christian to help with the physical and emotional suffering of others.  You see, without the message of the Cross, Christianity quickly appears no different, no better than anything else the world has to offer.  And that is a tragedy beyond all measure!  True Christianity is the most revolutionary and joyous concept known throughout the entire spiritual and physical universe!  Even the Angels in Heaven are in awe over what was done by God to redeem humanity.  Its magnitude is incomparable.

Mercy

You see, all the good works done for the world will not atone for the sins of the world.  Sinners are not entitled to God’s Blessing.  It is, in fact, death we deserve for our sins.  True justice toward humanity’s rebellion is God’s wrath.  Therefore, if we truly had a “just” Christmas, I’m sorry to say that most would not be here to celebrate it.  It is dangerous to give the impression to the lost and needy that the service they receive from us is “just,” because it can lead them to believe God’s Goodness toward them is deserved.  God’s Goodness toward humanity is not justice; it’s Mercy, and because of God’s Grace, we can be spared an eternity of separation and suffering in Hell.  Yes, our charity is a genuine way of showing Christian compassion, love, and self-sacrificing generosity to those in need, but its actual intention is to teach and mirror the Grace that God has shown to the needy sinner through the Gift of Christ and His Sacrificial Death on the Cross.  We can never call Christian service to others “just.”  The Church needs to keep in mind Ephesians 2:8-10 which states:  “For by Grace are you Saved through Faith; and that not of yourselves:  it is the Gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” 

Social Engineering

What is really being taught here, the agenda behind all this, is socialism (which the world often mistakes for Christianity anyway).  When you hear the term “just” in the political arena, it’s indicative of the transfer of wealth from the rich to the poor.  Our Christian charity, you see, is actually being twisted into a social engineering project – the transformational Marxist agenda of global governance, a global economy, and a one world religion.  When you see preachers using Christianity to promote social justice, they are promoting a worldly system whether they realize it or not.  Let me repeat, it is not the church’s calling or duty to make things right in this world.  Besides, all the volunteerism the churches can muster will never achieve this goal.  All that’s really been accomplished is a shift away from traditional mission work, the preaching of the Gospel, which is the only thing that truly has the power to save souls!  Remember, souls will either live eternally with God or without God!  Comparatively speaking, all this focus on the “here and now” is irrelevant.  

The Gospel

I read an interesting article in a publication called, “The Gathering”, which interviewed Franklin Graham.  One of the questions he was asked was:  “The next generation of believers seems to be making social justice issues such as poverty, disease, orphans, clean water, etc., a real priority.  What do you think about that?  Graham:  None of that is our mandate.  Jesus never said ‘I want you to go out and alleviate the poor in the world.’  So many churches and so many pastors are going in directions Jesus never told us to go into.  He said, ‘You will always have the poor with you.’”

The next question Graham was asked was, “Do you see those works as a door to sharing the Gospel and making Disciples?  Graham:  That’s the ‘if,’ if they do it, sure.  My grandparents were missionaries to China.  They took modern medicine to China.  Why? because the Chinese people had no medicine.  My grandfather, a surgeon, saved people’s lives so he could preach the Gospel.  If the social program comes first and then if you can, you try to work the Gospel wedge into it, that won’t work.  It has to be the Gospel first.  You go, why? because Christ died on the Cross, and that’s why I am going.  And by the way, if I see somebody hungry, I’m going to try to feed him.  If I see somebody that needs some medicine, I’m going to give them that.  If I meet somebody who just needs an arm around them, I’ll hug them and tell them God loves them.  But I’m going because Christ told me to go into the world and make Disciples.  He never told me to go feed people.  He never told me to go try to make people feel better.  He told me to preach the Gospel.”

Question 3: “To what extent do you think Christians should be involved in helping to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven now on Earth?  Should we be trying to redeem our culture?  Graham:  First of all, the Bible didn’t tell me to do that.  I can’t Christianize culture.  The god of this world is Satan.  This is his culture.  He is the god of this age.  I’m to preach the Gospel . . . God is calling a people for Himself, I don’t know who He is calling, I just have to be faithful and preach.”