The Dangerous Time Of False Unity

Apprising Ministries is all about allowing Jesus to be Lord of this little work that He has raised up. After all, we must remember it was Christ Who said – But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself (John 12:32). Men and women, as His Christians we needn't be made to feel ashamed about what we believe by those who have rejected reject God and are trying to find solace in their skepticism. The old Scottish preacher Henry Drummond was right on target when he said – “[Jesus] built no church [buildings], wrote no book, left no money, and erected no monuments, yet show me ten square miles in the whole earth without Christianity where the life of man and the purity of women are respected and I will give up Christianity.” Brother Drummond had nothing to worry about, the positive impact of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ upon this earth is beyond question. However, as I’ve pointed out on many occasions, almost everyone who is listening to the Spirit feels that we are nearing the end of this age of grace. These days it seems that virtually every true Christian you meet will talk about how we feel that Jesus will be coming “soon.” And I might add, there isn’t any real reason why we should feel any other way.

With this in mind then, we turn in our Bibles to 2 Timothy, chapter 4, and verse 1. It is the job of a pastor to keep his congregation aware of the issues facing the Church, as well as to prepare you for the times in which we live. This is contained within the pastoral command – In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, Who will judge the living and the dead, and in the view of His appearing and His Kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. And we also need to remember, that the very nanosecond that God the Father says to God the Son – “Go and get Your Church” – this world will be thrown into a season of turmoil such as it has never seen.

However, just prior to that–in other words right now–the Bible tells us – This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come – 2 Timothy 3:1. That was from the King James Version, which best captures the original Greek of this particular verse of Holy Scripture. The NIV reads – terrible times – but that really isn’t anywhere near strong enough wording to convey these ominous days ahead. The truth is, as bad as things may seem right now–as the old saying goes: “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” In the New International Bible Commentary Alan Nute quotes noted Bible commentator William Barclay as he points out that the “expression [perilous] times contains within it the thought ‘of threat, of menace, of danger’ [Wm. Barklay, The Daily Study Bible, p.209]” (New International Bible Commentary, p.1489, bold in original).

Can A Bad Root Produce Good Fruit?

When we pause to reflect on what I’ve just said, it is true that nearly all of us who would consider ourselves blood-bought Christians have been talking about these things. As such, the fact that these things are on all of our minds means that I’m not being an alarmist as I bring them to your attention here in an article like this. There are some who would feel: “Well this isn’t what we’re used to hearing from the pulpit.” And no doubt this is true, and some of what I’ve been teaching here is simply designed to correct misunderstandings concerning proper Christian doctrine, while the rest relates directly to these perilous times. A quick example; it is incredulous to me that in the mainstream Evangelical church there is now a growing move in preparation to accept The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) into at least some forms of religious fellowship. Can you imagine anything so ridiculous? Well, now you don’t have to imagine it, as you will be able to pick up Christianity Today and read all about Evangelical Protestants extending the right hand of fellowship to non-Christian cultists. Any chance this will play right into the mass of confusion regarding the subject of Christianity that Satan has already swirled into the squalid society of contemporary America–which is currently drowning in his philosophy of relativism?

It does seem incredible but it is also deathly true. If you’d like to read more about this issue I recommend to your attention my article found elsewhere on this Site The Mormon Church, The Deity of Christ, and Philippians 2:5-6. This idiocy must stop! Yes, Ephesians 4:15 tells us we should be speaking the truth in love, but for the love of the Lord, the very next chapter of Ephesians clearly tells the true Christian – Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them… Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them (vv. 6-7,11). I would venture to guess that this will be a bit difficult to do when sheep have their arms around wolves and are calling the wolf “brother.”

Don’t we remember that our Lord Jesus clearly told us:

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them (Matthew 7:15-20)

Notice particularly the b part of verse 17 a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Why do you suppose Jesus said this? Was it to exercise His lungs? I think not. He’s trying to tell us that groups which would begin with the rotten root of a false prophet will never bear good fruit. Among contemporary examples would be the Seventh-day Adventist Church–whose root extends back to two false prophets–William Miller and Ellen G. White, who was clearly exposed as a plagiarist. Another would be The Worldwide Church of God. A group which began its existence as a non-Christian cult, but which is now considered “orthodox” due to huge reformation of its satanic origins with Herbert W. Armstrong. What we’re getting at here is that even though these groups may now have things to commend them, Christ has already warned His Church that a bad tree–which these groups undoubtedly began as–cannot bear good fruit. It doesn’t matter what they do now. The truth is that every true Christian in these organizations should immediately come out from among them.

Read God’s Word For Yourself

And so, currently–because of the terrific lack of judgment shown by more and more of our Evangelical leaders–there is a ton of confusion in the Church today over much of what you will see covered here through the teaching ministry of AM. “Awaken–it’s morning!” Now, you’re probably going to find this hard to believe, being as shy as I am, but I will tell you bluntly two major reasons how travesties such as the Mormon debacle and the seeker sensitive Purpose Driven Church and its ugly stepsister the Emergent Church–with their “Mary had a little Lamb” philoso-theologies–have been allowed to fester within our Lord’s House. The first reason has led right into, and is directly responsible for, the second problem. First is our nearly unforgivable lack of attention to discern exactly what the Bible itself says about these issues the Church faces today. And the other problem is that quite unfortunately people have just become lazy about reading the Bible for themselves, and instead are foolishly making themselves dependent upon others to tell them what to believe through reading books about the Bible.

What happened as the inevitable result was that so-called “best-selling authors” – like ol’ smilin’ Joel Osteen – became the teachers within the Church. The truth is that the whole Body of Christ has been adversely affected, and increasingly large sections of it have even been corrupted over time. That’s how so much of the Evangelical–what is considered the “middle of the road” – Christian Church has drifted so far from what the Bible actually says. The only way that the Church of our Lord could have drifted so far from what the Church in the New Testament was doing is to stop reading God’s Word for itself. Because if you actually open it up and make the time read the Scriptures, there is simply no way on God’s earth you could ever reconcile much of what passes for Christianity with what you would read in the Bible. It just can’t be done–with a slide-rule, a crowbar and a whole library of dictionaries–it can’t be done.

As a result we are now left with one of two choices. We who are His Church–the Bride of Christ–can remain in our lives of compromise with the world system in order to live in peace with them. We could simply continue to play “church” and just keep on going through the motions of worshipping God in this country, and the possibility exists that He might allow it for a season. We can continue to do things “the way they’ve always been done” – but the devastating result of this type of thinking is the pitifully pathetic mess we now find ourselves in today within so much of the Evangelical camp as the skies continue to grow ever more red as this apostasy grows.

There is a better choice however. We could–and I would say we must–determine to return wholeheartedly to God and ask Him to forgive us for our abysmal lack of faith. We need to repent immediately from this kind of dead “churchianity.” If the true Church of Jesus Christ has any hope at all in reaching people for our Lord in this postmodern culture here in the United States, then we had best ground ourselves once more in the true understanding of these essential issues of the Christian faith. And if we who would claim to be Christian are having trouble understanding what the mission of the Church is, then how in the world do ever expect people trapped within false religious systems like secular humanism and the non-Christian cult of Mormonism, to name a couple of examples, to ever become dedicated followers of Christ Jesus?

The Christian Church Must Return To Our First Love

You remember Revelation 2 and the historic church at Ephesus, which had its lampstand – representing their right to minister for Christ–removed because they drifted away from their first love. Men and women, we must now face the sad fact that here in this country the Church of our Lord has long since forsaken our first love. So we must return and look carefully at these Scriptures–for this is what the Lord says: Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 2:4-7).

As I have talked to other pastors and ministers, there is a real feeling that things have now grown so bad in America that we who teach God’s Word have no choice but to come to the realization that we now living in a pagan nation. The Church in this foreign mission field must face the fact that we are living among a people that is hostile to Christianity, and further, they are also actively living lifestyles that are almost the exact opposite of the way God would have them live. The rampant sexual immorality in this nation alone should be enough for any Christian to see how depraved this people has become. However, to an alarmingly large extent, what has been happening is that all the while the Christian has been slowly and systematically desensitized to sin. Not unlike the frog in the kettle analogy.

Things today are so far away from any Biblical standard–and in virtually every area of our society–that the undiscerning among Christ’s people have simply gotten “used” to this type of lifestyle. For example, the average Christian has been regularly listening to secular music, and has had the world’s immoral value system preached to them on a consistent basis. I have even tried recently to lovingly point this out to Christian apologist Richard Abanes who tells us he enjoys listening to Green Day, a "pop-punk" band as it were. The very fact that he was willing to make a defense for punk music, a most despicable form of anti-society anti-music speaks volumes for the rotting "fruit" of the purpose driven life he is taught by his pastor Rick Warren at Saddleback church each week.

And then, in conjunction with the above, what has also been happening is that Christians are watching way too much secular television–with the same relentless indoctrination going on from this dubious source as well. Do we really have such a lack of respect for the Bible and the enemy of men’s souls to think that the Devil sleeps as his time grows short? And further, as the immature Christian then falls into friendships (be aware of the danger of undiscerning “friendship evangelism”) with unbelievers the situation is amplified further. The distressing fact here in America today is that the average Christian is developing exactly the same habits–and is actually living a lifestyle that is nearly identical to the one now “enjoyed” by unbelievers. They go to work, they come home, they flip on the TV–just the same as the non-Christian–except possibly they might watch a few different programs. The “Christian” witness of today is simply a kind of quasi-cleaner version of the typical secular lifestyle.

Let’s Get Back To The Apostles’ Teachings

The previous reference in Revelation 2:5 about doing the things you did at first is to return to the example of the early Church in the New Testament. In Acts 2:42 the Bible says – They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. You can literally turn there if you want to–I’m not kidding–it’s really in God's Word! Well, let’s ask ourselves: What does this mean? First – They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. This doctrine would be found in what we would now call the New Testament–as the apostles’ teaching has been written down for us. And since these men were also using the Old Testament to teach from, this would now include the entire Bible. So let’s stop and think about this for a moment: Do you think that God expected the early Church to do what He has said in Holy Scripture, but somehow Christ Jesus–the Lord–Who is the same yesterday and today and forever (see–Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6) excuses us from this now? You know, it wouldn’t hurt to meditate upon that question in your prayer and Bible study time with Jesus this week. As His Church, why don’t we seriously begin to ask the Master what He thinks about all this romancing non-Christian cults, and welcoming the fruit of false prophets into His Church? I tell you in the Lord, if we don’t, God the Holy Spirit will continue to grieve, we will be overcome in this nation, and ultimately He will remove our lampstand. Of this you may be sure.

We take it further now in this passage of Holy Scripture – They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread. We’ve already established that the apostles’ teaching is the Bible. Luke, the inspired writer here, tells us in his firsthand historic chronicle of the ancient Church, that these people were devoted – they lived out what they professed – and what they learned. I like the King James Version here in Acts 2:42 – And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine. They were actively involved in their Christian faith! It wasn’t something that they just talked about, or that they dragged out of the closet once a week on Sunday. No, the record of Holy Scripture shows they were steadfast – determined to please their Lord – at the expense of worldly living. The early Church recognized that to follow Christ is to turn your back on what the world is doing. And they also knew that the true Christian faith separates from those who profess to know God – If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work (2 John 1:10-11). If you really are a Christian, then how can you possibly even stomach the blatant filth that is paraded before us constantly?

The word fellowship in the Greek is koinonia–which most of us have heard of. And it means “sharing in common,” “that which is the outcome of fellowship, a contribution.” You see, by the way this passage in Acts 2 is written by God the Holy Spirit, you can get the historical picture of what the Christian Church was at its very inception. You don’t need to be a classical historian to figure it out. You don’t have to go to Bible college or to have some advanced degree in theology. That’s not the way the Lord intends a person to be able to come to understand the basic Christian message that mankind is hopelessly lost and God has made the only way for us to be saved through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ of Nazareth on the Cross. Sure, institutes of higher learning are important, but as William Tyndale once said: The Scriptures were written in such a way that an English ploughboy can understand them. This is still true, and by the way, this insight would ultimately cost Tyndale his life as he was put to death by the apostate Church of Rome for translating the Bible into English. More on that later though.

The Further Example Of The Ancient Christian Church

The picture of the early Church that emerges from the Bible is a people steadfastly devoted to living out their faith through the Lord’s teachings in the Holy Scriptures. These believers were active contributing members of local fellowships and were devoted to each other as family as well. The Christian Church in this country should learn from that. Who in the world would we as devoted followers of our Lord Jesus possibly have more in common with than each other? Who else should the Christian want to fellowship with than with other believers of like mind? Why doesn’t this make sense anymore? One word: Compromise.

I can tell you however, God the Holy Spirit thinks it makes more sense for believers in Christ to long for fellowship with other believers rather than with non-believers. How do I know that one might ask? Simply because of what our Lord made sure would be recorded in the Bible. Let us go to 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 14. I think it’s important we look at this together, and I’ll show you what God has to say on this subject. Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Belial, by the way, had come to be a proper name–and it means “worthless one.”

The Lord continues – What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? Unfortunately, for Christ Jesus today, if we are to answer that question honestly, we’d have to say–plenty! And the time has arrived to separate ourselves from this nonsense of trying to embrace non-Christian cults like the Mormon Church, and the ecumenism which is now even infecting large sections of the Evangelical church. Rick Warren, a major leader in the compromised Christian community today is even on record as saying: "I see absolutely zero reason in separating my fellowship from anyone." But the true Christian must turn away from the surreptitious siren song of Rome and return to the feet of our precious Lord Who purchased us with His Own blood. Of the genuine disciple of the Master it is written – Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

So Let Us Pray

Returning now to one final thing in our quick look at Acts 2:42, let’s just finish up with the very last part of that verse – and to prayer. This, of course, is pretty obvious as to what it means. The early Church was made up of a people who went to prayer – together. Of all the weapons God has given His Church, this is the single most powerful one that we have, and tragically it is also the one that we least access. Many times you’ll hear people–even those who aren't believers in Christ say: There’s power in prayer. And when they do, you have been presented with a perfect opportunity to witness for Jesus and to correct them. You see, they couldn’t be more wrong! As I’ve often told people as I share the biblical Christian faith, there is absolutely no power in prayer whatsoever. No, the power belongs exclusively to He Who answers that prayer–God Himself. And you will look in vain for a Scripture that says God will answer an unbeliever’s prayers. The only prayer that the Lord will answer for the unbeliever would be the faithful prayer of repentance as he asks for forgiveness of sins and for God to save him through grace alone–through faith alone–in Christ alone.

One more quick note about prayer. Have you wondered why you, as a faithful Christian, or your little fellowship has faced so much adversity in this current season? And I am sorry to say that our own Evangelical Protestant community in this country has been contributing to it. The more intense spiritual battles–which you will notice have increased of late–are coming our way because our Lord Jesus has plans for us. There is a remnant, a body of true believers in this dying nation, who have been feeling the call to become more “serious” in this walk with our Master. And we’re also feeling the need to take more advantage of the great weapon of prayer that we have been given by God–not to mention–the privilege of having a personal relationship with Him. I urge you to firmly grasp onto this lifeline of prayer and never let go. After all, Who better to take the time to get to know intimately than the Lord Jesus, our Creator.

The great warrior of prayer E.M. Bounds has written:

[People] of prayer are the only men and women who do or can represent God in this world. No cold, irreligious, prayerless [person] can claim the right... Praying men are the only men who have influence with God, the kind of men to whom God commits Himself and his Gospel. Those who pray are the only ones [upon whom] the Holy Spirit [rests His power], for the Holy Spirit and prayer go hand-in-hand. The Holy Spirit never descends upon prayerless [people]... There is nothing whatever in common between the Spirit of God and those who do not pray... In doing God’s work there is no substitute for prayer... The men to whom Jesus Christ committed the fortunes and destiny of His Church were men of prayer... God never has, and He never will, commit the weighty interests of His kingdom to prayerless [people], who do not make prayer a conspicuous and controlling factor in their lives.

Dr. Bounds sure knew what he was talking about-putting his life where his pen was: E.M. Bounds practiced what he preached; his own life was marked by a commitment to prayer, rising at four a.m. and praying until seven. And his writings about prayer-born from his own personal life of prayer-have challenged and motivated Christians for generations now.

The True Catholic Church

Here is a good point to refresh our memories as to what the true “catholic” Church is. We get that word catholic from the Greek katholikos–which means “universal.” I only mention this in passing, but while a pastor/teacher must preach the Gospel, the Bible also tells me – You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine (Titus 2:1). I am on record as having taken a stand that one of the things which has always bothered me about the Southern Baptist way of doing things is the lack of commitment to teaching from the pulpit. This once great denomination is itself fast becoming enveloped by “the way it’s always been done” in their circle. In my years as an SBC minister, the vast majority of the preaching I have witness is simply the same message over and over and over: Jesus of Nazareth died on the Cross for your sins.

As I have previously pointed out, nobody is denying this. And it is the very heart of the Gospel message, of course it should always be preached boldly. However, the whole seriously aberrant problem with the Rick Warren juggernaut rapidly rolling through the SBC is a horrendous misunderstanding of what the Church is in the first place. This really shouldn’t surprise us though, as Warren received at least some of his training concerning church growth from the heretical “Evangelical” minister Robert Schuller. Schuller even says that Rick Warren was a “graduate” of his insipid Institute for Successful Church Growth. The question that the seriously drifting Southern Baptist Convention needs to ask “brother” Warren is: Why did you feel you needed to go ask someone who denies the Lord Who bought him, how to grow a church for Christ Jesus? (see–2 Peter 2:1) Instead, it would seem, leaders within the SBC are quietly content to bow before Warren’s increasingly growing financial resources.

Be that as it may, these terrible times in which we are now living will require us to adhere to the following admonition. And my Southern Baptist brothers–who have seen fit to ignore my little SBC church and my inquiries for dialogue on these issues–had best take heed to begin to lead their flocks out of the “playpen” of the Christian faith. For this is what the Lord says – Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity – Hebrews 5:13-14 and 6:1. Need a little clarity? Here is what God is saying: The time has arrived for you to grow up!

Undoubtedly one of the most important things we are to do as a Church is to teach other Christians how to reach people for Jesus in the world in which they find themselves. However, the whole seeker sensitive Church Growth Movement missed the point when–operating in the flesh–they got the whole process exactly backward. And this is the huge problem with Rick Warren’s “Peter Druckerisms” which birthed this whole egregious error of the Purpose Driven life in the first place. Church–by biblical definition–is for believers. Certainly the Body of Christ is to reach those who are not in Christ, and thereby headed for an eternity in Hell, but not at the expense of proper doctrine or the scandalous neglect by pastors today to feed the sheep real food. The pathetic mess that passes for Christianity we are now forced to wallow around in today as the “Church,” is clearly the result of asking non-believers what they’d like to see in Christ’s Church. Ask a child what they’d like to eat, and their diet would immediately turn into a mess of sweets quickly leading to malnourishment. Can you see now what has plainly happened here in American Christianity?

I’ll give you a further example of what I’m talking about. Let me remind you of the most important area of the Christian faith, which would be the Gospel. The fact is, the very reason that God leaves us on the earth is to witness to people for our Lord–Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Men and women, how badly we need to recapture this within our hearts. God has chosen to use us to preach His Word to our fellow man. And we can easily see that His Church in this country is not exactly the most militant bunch you could ever find. We should also know that the Lord certainly doesn’t need us to deal with people. It is beyond question our Creator could easily manage to do this all by Himself, but the Bible teaches us that He has chosen to use us instead. The reason itself is fairly well revealed in this Scripture –but we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us – 2 Corinthians 4:7.

However, for far too long now, the Church has been preaching the Gospel without His all-surpassing power because many within Evangelicalism have been content to let the Donald McGavrens and the Peter Wagners and the Rick Warrens teach us how to get more bodies into our churches through the wisdom of the world. Of course Madison Avenue advertising practices and pragmatic business approaches will motivate human beings, in just the same way that a banana on a string would easily lead a monkey into a cage. But the Lord be forever praised, by His mercy and grace, it isn’t too late to repent from this foolishness and return full force to worshipping God in His Church in His way. If we will return to the biblical path God the Holy Spirit would have us placed us on, and if we would continue to devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer, then Jesus is going to once again turn on His power and His light from within His true Body of Christ. You see now how this all ties together?

The Example Of The Roman Catholic Church

Since pragmatism and man-centered ideas long ago swallowed up the Church of Rome, it will be beneficial to look a little deeper into this apostate church that left her first love many centuries ago, and as a result has had her lampstand removed. Rather than follow the vapid songs of the Purpose Driven life and the Emergent Church through which the spiritually obtuse are dancing their way right back to this spiritual harlot, we need instead to come to an understanding that the vast majority of those who are trapped within the Roman Catholic Church are not Christians–and they desperately need us to share the true Gospel with them. This is something that I have to deal with personally because the dominant religion in Claremont, NH where I minister locally is Roman Catholicism, and it is clearly in conflict with the Bible. Further, because the system of salvation as taught in the Church of Rome is not what the Bible itself teaches then we must oppose it. And it also needs to be understood that the Christian should never be hostile to individual Roman Catholics as some do actually manage to become born again in spite what they are taught in the cult-like vacuum of Roman Catholic soteriology. But for those with ears to hear, the time has undoubtedly arrived for the true Church of Jesus Christ–all of us who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit–to clearly and publicly tell people in our communities that the Church of Rome does not speak for our Creator and Lord Christ Jesus.

What exactly is at stake in all this was well illustrated back in the early to mid 90’s during a panel discussion hosted by Christian apologist John Ankerberg on Roman Catholicism, which featured Christian statesman Dr. D. James Kennedy, pastor and author Dr. John MacArthur, and reformed theologian Dr. R.C. Sproul. And MacArthur cut right to the heart of the matter when he said:

Look, if the Catholic Church is already a cobelligerent, if they are already anti-abortion, and pornography, and homosexuality; they are going to use all of their energies within the framework of their system to go after that. [Evangelical Protestants] are committed to that, and we are going after that. There is already a collective movement. Once you then sort of try to define that as "common spiritual mission" built on "common spiritual unity" you just take doctrine and throw it out the window, and perception is violated, particularly because the Catholic Church claims to be true Christianity, and when we reverse 450 years of history, and just throw our arms around the Roman system, which I think we have to say, John, in all honesty, is not a group of wayward brothers but is an apostate form of Christianity. It is a false religion, it is another religion. When you throw your arms around that you literally have to undo any doctrinal distinction (The John Ankerberg Show, Irreconcilable Differences, transcript on file, emphasis added).

The Book of Hebrews, chapters 6 and 10, in particular, warn of the dangers of the kind of apostasy–which has already claimed the Roman Catholic Church. And then there is this from R.C. Sproul, from that same program:

The one thing that the spirit of tolerance of our day cannot tolerate is intolerance, because relationships have become more important than truth. Now what's at stake here, if I understand the New Testament where the Apostle Paul writes the Galatians and says, "If anybody, anybody, if it's Peter, if it's Barnabus, if it's an angel from heaven teaches any other gospel—let him be anathema." That's not Sproul, that's not MacArthur, that's not Kennedy, that's not Ankerberg—that is the Apostolic position, and Paul wanted to make sure that he made himself clear so he repeated that. And then he goes on to say that he had to resist Peter himself, as Peter started to crack and compromise and negotiate the gospel. Now think about the people in the first century who got that letter—they were horrified.

Yes, there are believers, true believers, here and there in the Roman Catholic Church, and Liberal Churches and so on. They are mavericks to their community, and I personally believe that those people who truly accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior in the Biblical sense, who live in the Roman Catholic Church, have a moral and spiritual duty to leave that communion immediately! They are living in sin by continuing to be a visible member of an institution that anathematizes [condemns]the Gospel of Jesus Christ! (ibid.).

From being raised in the Roman Catholic Church myself, as well as through intensive personal study into this religious system, I can tell you with certainty that Dr. Sproul is quite correct. In fact, the system of Romanism does actually deny the very heart of the Gospel–salvation by grace alone; through faith alone; in Christ alone. It is so vital for the eternal souls of those people that Satan has trapped in this counterfeit Christian system that we come to understand this critical issue of Roman Catholicism, and to learn for ourselves what this apostate system of works-based religion itself teaches regarding the crucial doctrine of salvation. Here now is Canon 9 from Session VI from the Council of Trent, an official and authoritative Council held by the Roman Catholic Church:

If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone,[114] meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, and that it is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema (on file).

For those who may not know, anathema is the Greek word for under the Divine “curse” of God. And so you can see that Dr. Sproul is speaking the truth when he says that the Roman Catholic Church is “an institution that [even] anathematizes the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” You have just seen them do that right here from the Council Of Trent. Canon 9 once again - “If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone,...let him be anathema.”

Can A Church Be Christian Which Condemns The Gospel Of Jesus Christ?

Now, clearly we are not talking about some peripheral issue, some little minor thing off to the side. For the sake of eternal damnation in Hell–No! Men and women, this doctrine–known as justification–is the very heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the sole reason why we Christians are left here on earth in the first place, and that is to preach His Gospel. So, in regard to the serpentine religious system of the Roman Catholic Church, the question must be asked: Can the Church of Rome even be considered a Christian church? And in this generation, deadened as it is by the gross sin and filth which is now considered as an acceptable standard of conduct within our society, the answer must be stated bluntly: Of course not. The question that each of us who care about the people who have been swallowed alive by Satan’s best Christian counterfeit religious system needs to ask is this: How can a Church that has perverted the Gospel by adding such a convoluted sacramental work to it ever be the one true Church of Jesus Christ? This is without a doubt the mantle that she claims for herself. The Roman Catholic Church not only preaches a false gospel, it then pronounces that those of us who do preach the real Gospel according to Jesus of Nazareth–which is the Apostles’ doctrine we discussed earlier–under the divine curse of God. So how could this ever be considered a Christian Church? Why, it is ludicrous to even imagine, and yet Rick Warren and his band of purpose driven merry men are attempting to lead Christ’s people right back into the slavery and bondage of the Devil’s prized Church of Rome.

We turn in our Bibles now to the Book of Galatians. Here we shall see a couple of very important things pertaining to our study of some of these blights which have come upon Christ’s Church as this apostasy continues to spread like spiritual gangrene. I’d like us to see what the Apostle Paul said about where he obtained his knowledge concerning the Gospel of our Lord. Galatians 1:11 – I want you to know, brothers, that the Gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. Now, we can learn a couple of key things here about the message that the Apostle Paul preached. He wants to show us that he did not make up this idea that Christ Jesus died for the sins of the world, which is the Good News that through faith alone in His perfect atoning sacrifice a man can be obtain peace with God. And further, says Paul, no man made up this idea, nor did any human being teach it to him. No, the Gospel that the Apostle Paul preached–the critical part of the Apostles’ doctrine to which the early Church was devoted–the Lord Jesus Christ had taught him Personally. I would have to say that this is a pretty good Source to get your information from–the living Word of God Who became flesh – the One and Only Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Certainly we would have to believe that Jesus would know what His Gospel is, and so Paul is quick to point out that this is in fact Who had taught it to him in the first place.

With this key point in mind, we now look back up to verse 6 here in Galatians 1. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the One Who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing into confusion and are trying to pervert the Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from Heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! The King James Version reads let him be accursed. The Greek word God the Holy Spirit uses here is anathema–which I just discussed with you. Now, the great Apostle Paul–the human instrument the Lord used to write half of the New Testament–is so sure that the Gospel He preaches is God’s only plan of salvation for mankind that he repeats the rebuke in verse 9 – As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! I think it becomes quite obvious at this point that Paul considered the Gospel to be of the utmost importance and he vehemently opposed anything that perverted this Gospel in even the slightest way. What I just can’t help wondering is why so much of our Lord’s Church today doesn’t even seem at all concerned about the sacred purity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel According To Holy Scripture

Now we turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 1, and I will show you from the Bible itself exactly what the Gospel is that the Apostle Paul preached. For you see, God the Holy Spirit–looking down through the corridors of time–anticipated the perversion of the pure and simple Gospel by the Roman Catholic Church so He preserved it’s simplicity right within the pages of Holy Scripture. 1 Corinthians 15:1 – Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the Gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this Gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the Word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. Here’s an important point, believe in the wrong gospel and your faith is useless. Now verse 3 – For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

In these immaculate verses we can see that the Gospel does not have any “sacraments” attached to it, nor any “principles” that one must work out. It really is this simple: Jesus of Nazareth died a real death for our sins, and He was raised back to life as proof that God the Father had accepted His sacrifice. If a person truly repents of his sins, meaningfully asks Christ to save him–fully placing his faith in Christ alone–then he will be justified in the eyes of our righteous God and saved from His certain coming judgment against all sin because of Christ's finished work on the cross. The Christian Church in America would be wise to once again look more closely at the doctrine of justification–which speaks to just how it is that a sinful human being is absolved of his debt of sin by a perfect and holy God. For it is the central issue around which the whole Protestant Reformation revolved as Dr. Martin Luther rightly declared to the apostatizing and rapidly decaying Church of Rome – it is written: “The righteous will live by faith” – Romans 1:17. Incidentally, in this verse the Apostle Paul was actually quoting the Old Testament in proving his argument by using Habakkuk 2:4. Are you now able see this unforgivable problem from God’s perspective: The Holy and Apostolic Catholic Church would have already known this central truth of the historic orthodox Christian faith once for all entrusted to the saints (Jude 3).

For our purposes here, while commenting on this passage of 1 Corinthians 15 in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Dr. Robert Mounce informs us:

First Corinthians 15:3-5 sets forth with crystal clarity the message of primitive Christianity. Paul, using terms equivalent to the technical rabbinic words for the reception and transmission of tradition, refers to the message as something he had received and passed on (v.3). In v. 11 he can say, “Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.” In Galatians, Paul tells how he laid before the apostles at Jerusalem the gospel he had preached. Far from finding fault with the message, [instead] they extended to him the right hand of fellowship (Gal. 2:9). What Paul meant by his earlier remarks is that the charges against his gospel as a mere human message were completely fraudulent. The revelation of the full theological impact of the Christ-event was God-given and stemmed from his encounter on the Damascus road (p.514).

So what does all this mean? Simply, it means that Paul was preaching the exact same thing that Christ’s original Apostles were preaching regarding how mankind is to be saved from the damnation of Hell–and that prior to his having met with them. In other words Jesus would have had to have taught them all the same Gospel because each one of them preached the exact same message. And, since there was no chance of collusion on any of their parts, these men could not have just made up some story. We know for certain that this is true from what Paul has just told us earlier in Galatians, and we also know that he was not one of the original Apostles, but was instead an extreme antagonist to the initial historic Christian faith.

Earnestly Contend For The Faith

I do know that for some this is a bit technical, and I am also aware that today many people who claim to be Christian try to avoid confrontation at all cost. In the flesh, this is certainly understandable. However, if you truly are a Christian then there is just absolutely no way you can avoid it. Dr. Walter Martin often said – “The Christian faith was nurtured on the controversy it produced; in fact, Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the most controversial Figure Who ever lived.” For me to write an article like this rebuking the man-centered philosophies of the apostatizing Church Growth Movement, or condemning the long apostate Roman Catholic Church, undoubtedly comes under the Biblical instruction to contend earnestly for the [historic orthodox Christian] faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. I am only defending the cause of the Faith which was Authored by Christ Jesus my Lord. And we should all follow the example of Paul and Barnabus when they were made aware of men who were perverting the Gospel of our Master by adding works to it.

As we can easily see, this is exactly what the Church of Rome has done. So then, don’t you think it is still the job of the Christian to stand up for the only Gospel by which we are saved? The historical account in the Bible says – Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabus into sharp dispute and debate with them (Acts 15:1-2). You’ll notice that when Paul and Barnabus found out about the Judaizers (or the circumcision group) who were adding works to the Gospel of salvation they were brought into sharp dispute and debate with them. The King James Version says – therefore Paul and Barnabus had no small dissension and disputation with them. As soon as they heard about false teaching being spread in the Church–which was usurping the authority of the Gospel–they did something about it. In subsequent articles here you will also see that the Roman Catholic Church is very much like those Judaizers of the first century. Romanism does indeed add works to the beautiful simplicity of Christ’s Gospel thereby usurping its authority. And we who love Jesus Christ have a God-given duty to speak out against this–and every false system of religion–no matter how “family-friendly” it may be.

Let us ask this critical question: How many potential believers get swept into false and cult-like religious systems–such as Roman Catholicism–because we won’t follow the godly example of Paul and Barnabus. Men and women, just think about it; how many gifts has our Lord’s Church had to go without? We are losing so many people who then become trapped inside man-made religious labyrinths like the Roman Catholic Church who will never hear the true Gospel inside this maze of contradictions. How many of these people would have been preachers or even financial supporters of ministries like this one instead of wasting more money building huge Cathedrals to house dead people on Sunday mornings! And yet the most important question though still remains: How many of these people are going to spend eternity in conscious torment in an actual place called Hell–people who are doomed to be forever shut out from the Presence of their Savior–all because we never cared enough to share the true Gospel of Jesus Christ with them? While instead, to protect our own thin skins, we just assumed that they knew.

Have We Now Found Unity Between Christ and The Devil?

Let me sum all of this up by returning to the panel on The John Ankerberg Show for a couple of last points. Here is Dr. Sproul again:

What he [John MacArthur] is saying here, the Catholic Church understood in the 16th century, and Trent and Rome placed its unambiguous anathema on the Protestant doctrine of "Justification by faith alone" and has never, in any magisterial sense removed that anathema. The Roman Catholic Church condemns "sola fide" Now if, please understand this, if "sola fide" is the gospel, then the Roman Catholic Church has condemned the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, nobody who went to the Council of Trent, as a delegate, went there with the intention of condemning the gospel. The theologians of Rome really believed that they were defending the gospel and that the Protestants had in fact committed apostasy. And I admire the Church, the Roman communion of the 16th century for at least understanding what apparently people don't understand today, and that is what is at stake here. That they understood that somebody is under the anathema of God! And we can be as nice, and as pleasant, and as gentle, and as loving, and as charitable, and tolerant as we can possibly be, but it's not going to change that folks. Somebody is preaching a different gospel! And when Rome condemned the Protestant declaration of "Justification by faith alone" I believe, Rome, when placing the anathema on "sola fide," placed the anathema of God upon themselves. I agree with his [John MacArthur] assessment, that the institution [of the Roman Catholic Church] is apostate! (Sproul on Ankerberg Show, op. cit.).

And then there are those thousands of brave Christian souls who stood for the Lord and were murdered by the Roman Catholic Church. And murder is exactly what it was. Are we now just expected to forget about them? The Church at Rome has never even so much as apologized for these atrocities. Earlier I mentioned William Tyndale, who was one of the first men to see to it that the Bible was translated from Latin into English. According to Yale University historian Kenneth Scott Latourette the Roman Catholic Church had Tyndale “arrested for heresy in the Low Countries, he was tried, condemned, degraded from the priesthood, and strangled, and his body was burned” - [by order of the Pope of Rome] (A History of Christianity, Vol. II, p.799).

In the early dawn at the town of Vilvorde in the year 1536 his death sentence would carried out. Our dear Protestant brother, William Tyndale, was led to the place of execution where was then bound to a stake. An iron chain was fastened firmly around his neck, a hemp noose was placed around his throat and brush was then heaped up around him. From that stake Tyndale cried out with a loud voice in godly zeal as he prayed – “Lord! open the King of England's eyes.” The executioner would then snap down violently on the noose using all of his skillfully trained power and Tyndale was strangled within seconds. The pile of brush was then lit and his limp body was burned. All this because William Tyndale had simply translated God’s Word into English. Incidentally, the Bible that he translated still does say – Thou shalt not murder. For Christ’s sake, can’t we finally see that no true Christian Church could have ever done something so heinous, and yet this was done thousands of times with the full approval of the Roman Popes–each of whom is supposedly the Vicar of Christ on earth. The blood of these martyrs for our Lord Jesus cries out that this must never be forgotten!

I close now with these levelheaded words of perspective from Dr. D. James Kennedy, a well-respected pastor and author who is squarely within Protestant Evangelicalism:

The Council Of Trent [was a full] 18 years that [the Roman Catholic Church] spent examining the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation. And at the end of that time they came out with the many Canons of the Council of Trent… I’d like you to hear the words, [and] this has never been altered or denied by the Catholic Church quote: “if anyone says that the faith which justifies is nothing else but trust in the divine mercy which pardons sins because of Christ or that it is trust alone by which we are justified” - which is what every evangelical Christian would say, and they end with - “Let him be anathema.” Which means “let him be accursed.” Every evangelical Christian in the world stands under the official [and] never changed curse of the Roman Church. And we need to be aware of that fact” (Kennedy on Ankerberg Show, op. cit.).

And this is why it is so very important that we look at things like this today. Because we’ve become so conditioned by our secular society to be tolerant, and now, as amazing as it seems, the Evangelical church is even being so seduced into a misguided unity by purpose driven false prophets, that we have forgotten the fundamental questions found in Holy Scripture. Beloved, do you not remember:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.(2 Corinthians 6:14-18, KJV)