See JW/Mormons/Muslims/Sda etc, all claim to have a Jesus, but NONE of them have the real one as found in the Bible!
Unity and Uniformity...
- Thread starter Musicmaster
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You are so very correct my brother!
Ask any JW if they are a Christian and see what they tell you.
Ask any Mormon if they are a Christian and see what try tell you.
Now allow me to tell you what God said about this in Luke 13:24-27 .......
"Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, LORD, LORD, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity."
They will affirm that Jesus is the son of God, that he died for sins, that he arose again, but their Jesus is NOT the real One!
I am not sure about that brother. The JW's I know personally will say that Jesus was a great man, a prophet and a teache but never that He was the Go
MusicMaster, this is YOUR thread. What do you think?
Hello Major;
Now these are statements that light my fire for Christ! "Jesus is the blazing center!"
Keeping in mind the lesson of not seeing the center, "then that is the failure of understanding"
One of my church family who is a gentle and quiet brother, has always loved attending worship services and Bible study. Last Sunday he was given the opportunity to read the Scripture. The next day during worship when he came up front to read, he got nervous for not being used to speaking in front of the congregation. But he went ahead and read out loud but what was amazing is he exhorted the Scriptures from his own lips understanding exactly what he was reading.
This greatly encouraged the congregation. After service he was hard on himself for being nervous. We uplifted him by thanking him and asked if he would be willing to read again in the near future, he rejoiced, YES!
Major, I feel you can relate. When a brother or sister show a sign of their personal growth, they are encouraged in their participation of the unity.
Personally, this was a nice shot in the arm for me yesterday.
Well, you do like inviting trouble...huh?
Seriously, though, I was an active mormon for about a year or less before I started asking questions based upon the unbiblical things I started learning about their deeper beliefs they never reveal to prospective converts. I was sucked in my their love for being together more like a family, which should be going on in all church organizations, but isn't. It was a tract that showed me the questions to ask, and when I experienced the anger from my daring to ask questions, that's when my Southern Baptist upbringing started kicking in. I quickly removed myself from their get-togethers, distanced myself from their missionary friends I had befriended, and launched out into a deeper study of their doctrines and history.
So, when it comes to those various groupings, including the RCC Jesus and Mary, et al, there can never be unity when the Lord Himself is not the One they define within their writings and teachings. Uniformity by combining with them would be like wearing a clown outfit with differing colors of brlightly colored cloth sewn together into a tattered looking mockery of unity.
Dr. John Barnett spoke of a large gathering in Kalamazoo, MI, where the local bishop and priests were putting on an ecumenical gathering to try and put together a large enough event to fill the local coliseum. They invited representatives of about every religion imaginable, even witch doctors from Oklahoma Indian tribes.
Folks, the lack of discernment in the RCC leadership is staggering, to say the least. The liberal denominations also involved in that event only speaks louder volumes to just how low some will sink in the name of a contrived unity.
The clear agenda in all this, in the thinking of the powers and principalities of the air, is to further separate true believers from false, and to draw people straddling the fence further down the road of compromise along the broad path that leads to destruction.
But please remember...there will be a countless number who will run back to true salvation in Christ Jesus in the Tribulation period. They are those who will not be entering the wedding banquet because they had no oil for their lamps when He came and let in those who were there with lit lamps, and therefore ready. That parable doesn't say those without oil were lost and cast into eternal fire, just not allowed in when He came because of their lack of preparation at the moment when it mattered. Although that parable doesn't talk about those left outside being subject to the Tribulation headed their way along the outer streets that they will not escape, for many will turn to Christ Jesus once they realize what it is they missed out on.
I could write for hours on this, but suffice it to say that unity requires uniformity for those of us in the grouping of Truth. The clown outfit brigade are skipping along that broad path with deceived glee and joy until they approach that precipice, smell the sulfur and brimstone, and see the lake of fire awaiting them over the edge. Dare they try to run back, and the press of those behind them will only hinder their retreat as they are pushed forward by all those behind.
MM
MM
We also have church members read the sermon Scripture text before the sermon.
Here is a copy of a post from another board from a guy who thought he could defend the RCC practice of venerating and praying to Mary. We clearly have very little in common for unity with this kind of belief system. I little leaven leavens the whole loaf...
infinitekhanol said:
Disparage her? Why sensationalize what I said into that arena? Does that somehow lend more credibility to your accusation? Does it remedy the problems they create with all the various teachings about her that have become deeply entrenched into their belief system? There is so much more to all this than you have allowed into your vastly limited position.
Did you notice the differing terms in your statements? You said that its the RCC that pays "reverence" to their Mary, but not God. There's no argument that Mary was indeed blessed above other women:
Luke 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, [thou that art] highly favoured, the Lord [is] with thee: blessed [art] thou among women.
Notice that she was blessed AMONG women, but favored above them for...bearing the physical vessel the eternal Son inhabited. Yes.
However, the issues and problems do not stop there. If that were the only extent to what is accorded to her, then we would not be having this conversation. It would be a non-issue, but pretending this is the extent in totality...no. It's far more than this.
There is a difference. Where scripture is concerned, we are told this:
1 John 2:26-27
26 These [things] have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. 27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
When it comes to the catechisms and the observed practices, there is no need for divine interpretation for understanding, so trying to align the two as if they are a parallel to one another is an exercise in futility. The three Hebrew boys who were thrown into the furnace for their refusal to give even the APPEARANCE of evil, that speaks loud volumes to the compromises and downright evils that are presented in the overall panorama of what we can see in what is written, said, prayed and done in her name within the RCC.
Who are you? Have the members of the RCC made you their spokesperson? You certainly aren't speaking from the scriptures:
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
Perhaps YOU are trying to "grow in grace," but I and many others have already received it in full, with it having been bestowed upon us to the full extent of salvation without any question for the assumed need for purging. The Jesus described within the pages of the Bible is not the same Jesus they teach and revere. The Jesus of the Bible, said, "It is finished." The RCC adds to the words of Jesus by teaching, "It was only finished to the extent of salvation, but not complete remission and cleansing away of all sins." The Jesus of the Bible does not need a co-mediator:
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Nowhere in that context do we see the Lord and Creator of us all including Mary as a mediator. They have subjectively added her as another avenue. Why? If you speak for them, then perhaps you can answer that.
Making that desire for "intercession" into a minimal item of concern in an attempt to trivialize the objections is just another manipulative tactic that doesn't work on me. You either believe what Jesus said, or you do not. That's the dividing line. Trying to paint around the confines of Christ alone, in yellow stripes, in order to try and expand the intermediary borders around where Christ alone is our mediator. that only highlights your own lack of understanding and discernment.
You make it sound so innocent and easy, as if it were no big deal to include Mary as a mediator. Well, we both know Mary is not the only one they pray to. Your skills at minimalizing vastly important issues that have ramifications far beyond what you attribute to them in relation to the Bible only shows that YOU obviously don't read your Bible well.
Seriously? Why is it that YOU don't accept what the Bible says? Please show me where Paul encouraged ANYONE to pray to Mary or any of the other dead people (yes, they are dead...to this world, obviously) who the RCC subjectively "sainted." Where does the word of God encourage us to ask those who are gone from this world to intercede or do anything on our behalf.
Beyond that, please explain to us how it does not attribute to Mary and the others the powers and nature of God for them to hear every person on this earth who prays to them (omnipresence and omniscience). How do you know they have those abilities? Do you believe that because the RCC teaches it? Pretending that this is all harmless and of no consequence only betrays your lack in any desire to allow scripture to speak for itself in an authoritative foundation for truth.
And He THEN asked her: John 2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
She clearly was out of line, and He explained why, although he honored her and the wedding party with the best wine they had ever drank. You can speculate all you want about the reasons why He went ahead and honored the request and the wishes of the other people there, but to try and transplant that off into eternity the idea that RCC people's prayers are heard and expressed by her in like manner to Jesus is nothing more than human ingenuity for invention of doctrine.
No, the question is WHY? That's of pagan origin, the concept and designation "queen of heaven." Why paganize Mary with a title originating and couched in that type of positional accolade? Why would you or anyone else do that to her?
Again, why? She was not sinless, and was therefore in need of a Savior just like all the rest of us. Why believe what is contrary to the written word of God?
MM
infinitekhanol said:
Disparage her? Why sensationalize what I said into that arena? Does that somehow lend more credibility to your accusation? Does it remedy the problems they create with all the various teachings about her that have become deeply entrenched into their belief system? There is so much more to all this than you have allowed into your vastly limited position.
Did you notice the differing terms in your statements? You said that its the RCC that pays "reverence" to their Mary, but not God. There's no argument that Mary was indeed blessed above other women:
Luke 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, [thou that art] highly favoured, the Lord [is] with thee: blessed [art] thou among women.
Notice that she was blessed AMONG women, but favored above them for...bearing the physical vessel the eternal Son inhabited. Yes.
However, the issues and problems do not stop there. If that were the only extent to what is accorded to her, then we would not be having this conversation. It would be a non-issue, but pretending this is the extent in totality...no. It's far more than this.
There is a difference. Where scripture is concerned, we are told this:
1 John 2:26-27
26 These [things] have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. 27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
When it comes to the catechisms and the observed practices, there is no need for divine interpretation for understanding, so trying to align the two as if they are a parallel to one another is an exercise in futility. The three Hebrew boys who were thrown into the furnace for their refusal to give even the APPEARANCE of evil, that speaks loud volumes to the compromises and downright evils that are presented in the overall panorama of what we can see in what is written, said, prayed and done in her name within the RCC.
Who are you? Have the members of the RCC made you their spokesperson? You certainly aren't speaking from the scriptures:
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
Perhaps YOU are trying to "grow in grace," but I and many others have already received it in full, with it having been bestowed upon us to the full extent of salvation without any question for the assumed need for purging. The Jesus described within the pages of the Bible is not the same Jesus they teach and revere. The Jesus of the Bible, said, "It is finished." The RCC adds to the words of Jesus by teaching, "It was only finished to the extent of salvation, but not complete remission and cleansing away of all sins." The Jesus of the Bible does not need a co-mediator:
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Nowhere in that context do we see the Lord and Creator of us all including Mary as a mediator. They have subjectively added her as another avenue. Why? If you speak for them, then perhaps you can answer that.
Making that desire for "intercession" into a minimal item of concern in an attempt to trivialize the objections is just another manipulative tactic that doesn't work on me. You either believe what Jesus said, or you do not. That's the dividing line. Trying to paint around the confines of Christ alone, in yellow stripes, in order to try and expand the intermediary borders around where Christ alone is our mediator. that only highlights your own lack of understanding and discernment.
You make it sound so innocent and easy, as if it were no big deal to include Mary as a mediator. Well, we both know Mary is not the only one they pray to. Your skills at minimalizing vastly important issues that have ramifications far beyond what you attribute to them in relation to the Bible only shows that YOU obviously don't read your Bible well.
Seriously? Why is it that YOU don't accept what the Bible says? Please show me where Paul encouraged ANYONE to pray to Mary or any of the other dead people (yes, they are dead...to this world, obviously) who the RCC subjectively "sainted." Where does the word of God encourage us to ask those who are gone from this world to intercede or do anything on our behalf.
Beyond that, please explain to us how it does not attribute to Mary and the others the powers and nature of God for them to hear every person on this earth who prays to them (omnipresence and omniscience). How do you know they have those abilities? Do you believe that because the RCC teaches it? Pretending that this is all harmless and of no consequence only betrays your lack in any desire to allow scripture to speak for itself in an authoritative foundation for truth.
And He THEN asked her: John 2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
She clearly was out of line, and He explained why, although he honored her and the wedding party with the best wine they had ever drank. You can speculate all you want about the reasons why He went ahead and honored the request and the wishes of the other people there, but to try and transplant that off into eternity the idea that RCC people's prayers are heard and expressed by her in like manner to Jesus is nothing more than human ingenuity for invention of doctrine.
No, the question is WHY? That's of pagan origin, the concept and designation "queen of heaven." Why paganize Mary with a title originating and couched in that type of positional accolade? Why would you or anyone else do that to her?
Again, why? She was not sinless, and was therefore in need of a Savior just like all the rest of us. Why believe what is contrary to the written word of God?
MM
Actually, I misspoke in the previous message on that other board. Looking at that verse again more carefully, which I usually do, but didn't that time:
Luke 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, [thou that art] highly favoured, the Lord [is] with thee: blessed [art] thou among women.
Positionally, the real she was not above all other women in any way. The pagan Mary was elevated above all other women by mankind, not God. The real Mary was "highly favored" and "blessed...among women."
So, in relation to the topic of this thread, we cannot be ecumenically unified with a religious system that defines a different Mary who doesn't even exist, given the attributes of Deity that religion assigns to their false Mary. What's worse is that they also define and follow a false christ. The Jesus described in the Bible is not called down by any priest so that His body can be worshipped in pancake form under the name of "the Host."
They call it a bloodless sacrifice. The real Jesus passed the cup of the New Covenant, filled with wine as representative of His blood. Not so bloodless at all. So, partaking of only half of what Christ Jesus handed to mankind is itself cause for suspicion that the unthinking masses have been lulled into acceptance.
Some have argued that the antiquity of a religion should validate its precepts and coexistence as a valid religion to which we all in Christ should unify. There was a time the RCC rejected Buddhism, which existed more than a thousand years before Christ, but today, they embrace just about every other religion on earth except us biblicists.
So, the end of the matter for me is that we cannot embrace uniformity with the RCC or any of the other religions of the world, all of whom reject the authority of the word of God written out in the Bible, and even add to it their traditions elevated to the same level, and even above the Bible on some key issues. Therefore, without uniformity, there is no unity. The word of God itself rejects the idea of uniformity with teachings that convey what is contrary to the absolute purity of doctrine defined within the Bible.
MM
Luke 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, [thou that art] highly favoured, the Lord [is] with thee: blessed [art] thou among women.
Positionally, the real she was not above all other women in any way. The pagan Mary was elevated above all other women by mankind, not God. The real Mary was "highly favored" and "blessed...among women."
So, in relation to the topic of this thread, we cannot be ecumenically unified with a religious system that defines a different Mary who doesn't even exist, given the attributes of Deity that religion assigns to their false Mary. What's worse is that they also define and follow a false christ. The Jesus described in the Bible is not called down by any priest so that His body can be worshipped in pancake form under the name of "the Host."
They call it a bloodless sacrifice. The real Jesus passed the cup of the New Covenant, filled with wine as representative of His blood. Not so bloodless at all. So, partaking of only half of what Christ Jesus handed to mankind is itself cause for suspicion that the unthinking masses have been lulled into acceptance.
Some have argued that the antiquity of a religion should validate its precepts and coexistence as a valid religion to which we all in Christ should unify. There was a time the RCC rejected Buddhism, which existed more than a thousand years before Christ, but today, they embrace just about every other religion on earth except us biblicists.
So, the end of the matter for me is that we cannot embrace uniformity with the RCC or any of the other religions of the world, all of whom reject the authority of the word of God written out in the Bible, and even add to it their traditions elevated to the same level, and even above the Bible on some key issues. Therefore, without uniformity, there is no unity. The word of God itself rejects the idea of uniformity with teachings that convey what is contrary to the absolute purity of doctrine defined within the Bible.
MM
JW call Jesus son of God, ther Messiah, but to them is just Michael the head angel!
The Mormons hold to multiply Gods, as all mormon men married in the temple can aspire to being a god themselves! And Rome still officially calls Pauline Justification Anathema!Well, you do like inviting trouble...huh?
Seriously, though, I was an active mormon for about a year or less before I started asking questions based upon the unbiblical things I started learning about their deeper beliefs they never reveal to prospective converts. I was sucked in my their love for being together more like a family, which should be going on in all church organizations, but isn't. It was a tract that showed me the questions to ask, and when I experienced the anger from my daring to ask questions, that's when my Southern Baptist upbringing started kicking in. I quickly removed myself from their get-togethers, distanced myself from their missionary friends I had befriended, and launched out into a deeper study of their doctrines and history.
So, when it comes to those various groupings, including the RCC Jesus and Mary, et al, there can never be unity when the Lord Himself is not the One they define within their writings and teachings. Uniformity by combining with them would be like wearing a clown outfit with differing colors of brlightly colored cloth sewn together into a tattered looking mockery of unity.
Dr. John Barnett spoke of a large gathering in Kalamazoo, MI, where the local bishop and priests were putting on an ecumenical gathering to try and put together a large enough event to fill the local coliseum. They invited representatives of about every religion imaginable, even witch doctors from Oklahoma Indian tribes.
Folks, the lack of discernment in the RCC leadership is staggering, to say the least. The liberal denominations also involved in that event only speaks louder volumes to just how low some will sink in the name of a contrived unity.
The clear agenda in all this, in the thinking of the powers and principalities of the air, is to further separate true believers from false, and to draw people straddling the fence further down the road of compromise along the broad path that leads to destruction.
But please remember...there will be a countless number who will run back to true salvation in Christ Jesus in the Tribulation period. They are those who will not be entering the wedding banquet because they had no oil for their lamps when He came and let in those who were there with lit lamps, and therefore ready. That parable doesn't say those without oil were lost and cast into eternal fire, just not allowed in when He came because of their lack of preparation at the moment when it mattered. Although that parable doesn't talk about those left outside being subject to the Tribulation headed their way along the outer streets that they will not escape, for many will turn to Christ Jesus once they realize what it is they missed out on.
I could write for hours on this, but suffice it to say that unity requires uniformity for those of us in the grouping of Truth. The clown outfit brigade are skipping along that broad path with deceived glee and joy until they approach that precipice, smell the sulfur and brimstone, and see the lake of fire awaiting them over the edge. Dare they try to run back, and the press of those behind them will only hinder their retreat as they are pushed forward by all those behind.
MM
MM
There are indeed saved Catholics, but saved despite official Catholic doctrine and dogma!
You are absolutly correct my brother.
Our moderators will not allow it (IF they do let me know) but if they did I can post at least 30 RCC teachings that are not in any way Biblical neither are they Christian in their origin. I have no idea how that kind of seperation can foster any unity at all.
One you just posted which was.............."Mary is NOT sinless" which is the RCC teaching of the "Immaculate Conception".
The Church of Rome and Baptists such as myself still disagree on the Reformation, in regards to Pauline Justification!
Amen!
I am sure that there is more than just that that you do not agree with the RCC on.
Yes, but that would be the one thing that we must agree upon to be saved!
Yes of course....I totally agree!
I'd like to throw something else out there for thought:
How many types of Theosophy are there? I don't think anyone has ever made an official count nor identification of all the branches and rabbit holes out there as to how that system of doubting God's word actually exist. I'd like to share this with you:
How Satan Deceives People
Genesis 3:1-4 teaches us how Satan always works. The first thing the serpent (identified as Satan according to Revelation 20:2) was to cause Eve to doubt. Then once the Devil gets you to doubt, he says that the Bible is not true. And then finally, he removes the Word of God completely (or corrupts it to render it useless) and abandons you.
Satan's Three Step Plan:
The Bible teaches that it's better to be divided by truth, than to be united by error. 2nd Corinthians 6:14, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” Bible-believing Christians are commanded not to form unequal yokes with unbelievers (i.e., the unsaved). This means that a New Testament Church ought not yoke together in any capacity with Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, Catholics, Lutherans, Charismatics, Lordship Salvationists or other deadly cults that damn men's souls to Hell forever. Whether it be the heresy of Baptismal Salvation, Works Salvation, Sacramental Salvation or Lordship Salvation; these are all perversions of the simplicity that is in Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 5:15; 6:23) that you simply receive by faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 1:14; 20:31).
The Bible uses the simplest of terms in 2nd Corinthians 6:14... “light” verses “darkness,” and “righteousness” verses “unrighteousness.” There is no common denominator. There is no unity. This is exactly what God is saying to us. James 4:4 tells us that friendship with the world makes a person God's enemy. It is a shame that professed Christians are forming ties with the enemies of God. Those religious teachers who pervert the simplicity of the Gospel and corrupt the Doctrine of Christ are the children of darkness. We ought not hobnob and rub shoulders with them in ecumenical apostasy and sinful compromise. This is why it is evil to support, promote or yoke together with any religion that perverts the Gospel or corrupts the Doctrine of Christ. Thus, Biblical Christians ought not fellowship with heathen Catholics. What fellowship hath light with darkness?
[My additions are in the square brackets in the above excerpt, quoted from http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False Doctrines/Ecumenism/unity_with_satan.htm.]
One of the things that brought this article into glaring contrast for me was a video I saw on Youtube yesterday. The scholar talked about how wrong followers of Christ are for saying such things as, "This world is not my home. I'm a citizen of a Heavenly Kingdom." In other words, it's his thinking that we should speak in terms that place us here as being world dwellers along with all unbelievers, as if that will help us to share the Gospel more effectively with them. Our being foreigners to this world is what we are called to by the Lord. For crying out loud, Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us. Why would we want to call a place "my home" that's about to burn away into nothingness, and thus alienate ourselves from the Lord our God?
That's the kind of garbage we should reject outright. We are at enmity with the world, not friends of the world. Why become an enemy of God in order to allegedly become a more effective witness for Christ? What Christ does that witness apart from a false one? That's like walking into a bar, getting drunk with all the other unbelieving and sinful drunks, all in order to witness "more effectively" to them. Folks, just how blatant and glaring does Satan have to be before more believers to actively stand back and distance themselves from such, calling onto the carpet those who are in league with the tactics of the devil?
If we're going to remain a meaningful and effective witness for Christ Jesus, then we must stand on the cape of any and all falsehoods to keep them from progressing in our midst, and call them to account. If they refuse to acquiesce to the written and timeless truths of God's word, then they are darkness in our midst. Playing with fire while doused with gasoline is the game of fools. I prefer to not allow myself to be doused with gasoline, and to let the only fire around me to be the fire of Holy Spirit within me.
There is a discernable limit as to just how far we allow darkness to go before it must be cast out. Grace and mercy should characterize our love for others, but there comes a time when we must mark those teachings out there that are known tools of Satan, and those who promote those false doctrines, and deal with them decisively at some point to keep the taint of their disease from spreading. The spirit of ecumenism has driven many to adopt a level of tolerance that's simply not healthy to the body.
May we all hold to a love for the absolute truth of God's word, and promote loving discipline when and where it's needed. We should remain iron sharpening iron. In that way, the taint of the rust is scraped off, and the shiny, new blade edge is ready to cut both ways, rightly dividing the word of truth in all things.
MM
How many types of Theosophy are there? I don't think anyone has ever made an official count nor identification of all the branches and rabbit holes out there as to how that system of doubting God's word actually exist. I'd like to share this with you:
How Satan Deceives People
Genesis 3:1-4 teaches us how Satan always works. The first thing the serpent (identified as Satan according to Revelation 20:2) was to cause Eve to doubt. Then once the Devil gets you to doubt, he says that the Bible is not true. And then finally, he removes the Word of God completely (or corrupts it to render it useless) and abandons you.
Satan's Three Step Plan:
- You question God's Word and plant a seed of doubt in the victim's mind.
- Once the seed of doubt is planted, then you tell them, “It's a good book, but it's not perfect.” [Or that it doesn't apply to us today because it wasn't written to us.]
- After you cause the doubt, then you remove the Bible. Now that God's Word has been removed, man becomes deified and Satan tells them that their feelings [or personal beliefs] are the standard of truth. This is Satan's method and it has worked for thousands of years.
The Bible teaches that it's better to be divided by truth, than to be united by error. 2nd Corinthians 6:14, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” Bible-believing Christians are commanded not to form unequal yokes with unbelievers (i.e., the unsaved). This means that a New Testament Church ought not yoke together in any capacity with Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, Catholics, Lutherans, Charismatics, Lordship Salvationists or other deadly cults that damn men's souls to Hell forever. Whether it be the heresy of Baptismal Salvation, Works Salvation, Sacramental Salvation or Lordship Salvation; these are all perversions of the simplicity that is in Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 5:15; 6:23) that you simply receive by faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 1:14; 20:31).
The Bible uses the simplest of terms in 2nd Corinthians 6:14... “light” verses “darkness,” and “righteousness” verses “unrighteousness.” There is no common denominator. There is no unity. This is exactly what God is saying to us. James 4:4 tells us that friendship with the world makes a person God's enemy. It is a shame that professed Christians are forming ties with the enemies of God. Those religious teachers who pervert the simplicity of the Gospel and corrupt the Doctrine of Christ are the children of darkness. We ought not hobnob and rub shoulders with them in ecumenical apostasy and sinful compromise. This is why it is evil to support, promote or yoke together with any religion that perverts the Gospel or corrupts the Doctrine of Christ. Thus, Biblical Christians ought not fellowship with heathen Catholics. What fellowship hath light with darkness?
[My additions are in the square brackets in the above excerpt, quoted from http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False Doctrines/Ecumenism/unity_with_satan.htm.]
One of the things that brought this article into glaring contrast for me was a video I saw on Youtube yesterday. The scholar talked about how wrong followers of Christ are for saying such things as, "This world is not my home. I'm a citizen of a Heavenly Kingdom." In other words, it's his thinking that we should speak in terms that place us here as being world dwellers along with all unbelievers, as if that will help us to share the Gospel more effectively with them. Our being foreigners to this world is what we are called to by the Lord. For crying out loud, Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us. Why would we want to call a place "my home" that's about to burn away into nothingness, and thus alienate ourselves from the Lord our God?
That's the kind of garbage we should reject outright. We are at enmity with the world, not friends of the world. Why become an enemy of God in order to allegedly become a more effective witness for Christ? What Christ does that witness apart from a false one? That's like walking into a bar, getting drunk with all the other unbelieving and sinful drunks, all in order to witness "more effectively" to them. Folks, just how blatant and glaring does Satan have to be before more believers to actively stand back and distance themselves from such, calling onto the carpet those who are in league with the tactics of the devil?
If we're going to remain a meaningful and effective witness for Christ Jesus, then we must stand on the cape of any and all falsehoods to keep them from progressing in our midst, and call them to account. If they refuse to acquiesce to the written and timeless truths of God's word, then they are darkness in our midst. Playing with fire while doused with gasoline is the game of fools. I prefer to not allow myself to be doused with gasoline, and to let the only fire around me to be the fire of Holy Spirit within me.
There is a discernable limit as to just how far we allow darkness to go before it must be cast out. Grace and mercy should characterize our love for others, but there comes a time when we must mark those teachings out there that are known tools of Satan, and those who promote those false doctrines, and deal with them decisively at some point to keep the taint of their disease from spreading. The spirit of ecumenism has driven many to adopt a level of tolerance that's simply not healthy to the body.
May we all hold to a love for the absolute truth of God's word, and promote loving discipline when and where it's needed. We should remain iron sharpening iron. In that way, the taint of the rust is scraped off, and the shiny, new blade edge is ready to cut both ways, rightly dividing the word of truth in all things.
MM
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