Friday, July 03, 2009
These Lying Times....The Missing Church ( Part 4 )
These Lying Times....The Missing Church ( Part 4 )
By Carl G Loy
6/20/09
I know of no better way to judge the effectiveness of the Church teaching God's Word in Truth than to measure its' influence in history and comparing that to the current day. From the early days of Colonial
America, until today, a great and devastating transformation has taken place. During the days of America's founding as a nation, the influence of the Church was very evident within society and in government. In fact it was such a great influential force that politicians could not hope to be elected to office without addressing and expressing the concerns and aspirations of those who studied God's Word. Yet, today over 200 years later, we see a totally different society and government, where little is the influence of those who may still study God's Word. From those early days, when righteousness restrained the unrighteous, until today when unrighteousness grows unrestrained, what happened? What happened to the influence of His Church? Where is this Church today?
One trend we can follow is the lack of seriousness with which the Word of God is considered. As man became more affluent and enjoyed more conveniences with less hard work required, he saw less and less the need for God. Evil forces such as communism capitalized upon this lapsing devotion to Godly principles and gradually introduced socialism and government controls into accepting attitudes. Today we are left with most Christians playing church more than they are studying God's Word seriously and they readily accept the distortions being promoted as His Word. Too many Christians who placed faith in the Constitution have been too willing to see it ignored when it seemed beneficial to do so. Of course, the Constitution was a secular man made document never acceptable as a replacement for God's Word, nor should it be considered on an equal basis with God's Word. While violations of the constitution have been numerous and seem to be the reason for the shape we're in, it is the disregard for God's Word that has proven disastrous for America as a nation. No nation has ever experienced freedom for its' citizens without a Christian influence, none. All liberty has come from God and when that is recognized and protected as the Declaration of Independence attempted to do, people have enjoyed freedom not otherwise experienced. When a government is based upon God's Word, righteousness and liberty will prevail. When it is recognized that all rights come from God and that governments by man are simply established to protect those rights from those who might want to take them away and deny such rights, then we have the proper order of man's relationship with government.
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Cor. 3:17).
There was a time when the church was a strong force in holding government accountable and it was a moral accountability. After the Constitution, rather than holding government accountable to God, it became 'holding government accountable to the people.' It became a government of, by, and for the people, and no longer a Godly government designed to protect the people's God-given rights. Still, the church had a profound influence upon secular government for many years until it gradually lost its' savour. As the influence of the church diminished, so did liberty. The church lost its' savour as it began to rely more on the constitution than it did on God's Word. As a result of the missing church, communism has installed socialism in its' place and today we see Christian children being indoctrinated in schools that would have qualified as communist schools some 100 years ago. Socialism may well be the most insidious evil in Satan's arsenal to undermine the freedom of God's people. Introduced as a benevolent way of doing good for the benefit of the group, a system of theft in the name of good works, it progresses into complete tyranny and the enslavement of those it professed to represent. Considering the extent to which socialism has today become the democratic way in America, one has to conclude that the church is missing as a restraining influence. In fact, it is the church that has been transformed into an advocate of socialism.
The Age of Reason and Enlightenment was a period of rebellion against God. It was a time of moral decline in England which gave way to increased crimes and corruption and immorality. The true church seemed to have disappeared. Yet, out of chaos and immorality were raised great speakers for God who spoke with voices of Authority. It is this Authority that has again disappeared. God's Message is one of Authority and should be spoken of with authority. God's Word is the Authority of God and it should be preached with Authority. Those who have preached with this Authority have made a great impact upon people and therefore upon government. Like the Apostles, these men were often imprisoned and persecuted, but not before they too influenced society in a moral way that saw liberty and property rights being recognized as gifts from God. Returning to the Word of God as our Authority is the only means of restoring lost liberty in this nation and it comes at great risk. Government does not recognize the Authority of God and anyone who does is considered an enemy of the state.
Today, we are saturated with false teaching, the most alarming of which is that which uses God's Word to deceive Christians. "A Purpose Driven Life," a book by Rick Warren has become widely accepted and followed by many denominations including the usually most devout churches in America, even all over the world. Because Christians have fallen away from seeking Truth and to study for themselves, they are susceptible to man's false teaching and absolutely none distort God's Word so outrageously and yet so subtle, as does the teaching / preaching of Rick Warren. If it sounds good and feels good, people want to believe it and they do. Rick Warren makes his distorted renditions of the Gospel sound good and feel good and he is leading many thousands astray. While there are a few men of sound doctrine disputing Warren's teaching, they are under funded and unpopular to the world, but I am thankful for their efforts to be a light in the darkness of that has pervaded His Church. Exposing false teaching is a Biblical requirement of the Believer. Warren preaches the Kingdom of Rick Warren, not the Kingdom of God, and his works, his books, his methods, are in direct contradiction to God's Word. Rick Warren is a liar and a deceiver. It is the Rick Warren's in the world that have disappeared the true church. Using pagan translations of the Scripture, many such as Warren, have twisted God's Message to mean what they want it to mean. What that means is that many are being led straight to hell by false prophets. To take a stand against these adversaries of Jesus Christ is not popular. To reprove these false teachings is to take a stand that will divide families and friends and turn one against another.
"You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved." Matthew 10:22
As Believers, we have a choice; be obedient to God, or be disobedient. Obedience finds liberty and hope in Jesus Christ. Disobedience begets chastisement and punishment. In the end we are either one of His, or we are living in separation from God, without hope. Those without hope try to find it on earth among worldly things. As they live separate from God, so should we try to live separately from them. We are admonished in His Word that righteousness has no business with unrighteousness; nor the clean with the unclean, neither with unequal associations, nor works of darkness. We are to identify, expose, reprove, warn, watch, study, seek, and witness. Otherwise, we are slothful and we are cowards; we are lazy and without courage. When these things are not being preached, when evil is not being identified, and when the Christian is not being taught Truth from the Word of God, one can only surmise that the church is missing.
By Carl G Loy
6/20/09
I know of no better way to judge the effectiveness of the Church teaching God's Word in Truth than to measure its' influence in history and comparing that to the current day. From the early days of Colonial
America, until today, a great and devastating transformation has taken place. During the days of America's founding as a nation, the influence of the Church was very evident within society and in government. In fact it was such a great influential force that politicians could not hope to be elected to office without addressing and expressing the concerns and aspirations of those who studied God's Word. Yet, today over 200 years later, we see a totally different society and government, where little is the influence of those who may still study God's Word. From those early days, when righteousness restrained the unrighteous, until today when unrighteousness grows unrestrained, what happened? What happened to the influence of His Church? Where is this Church today?
One trend we can follow is the lack of seriousness with which the Word of God is considered. As man became more affluent and enjoyed more conveniences with less hard work required, he saw less and less the need for God. Evil forces such as communism capitalized upon this lapsing devotion to Godly principles and gradually introduced socialism and government controls into accepting attitudes. Today we are left with most Christians playing church more than they are studying God's Word seriously and they readily accept the distortions being promoted as His Word. Too many Christians who placed faith in the Constitution have been too willing to see it ignored when it seemed beneficial to do so. Of course, the Constitution was a secular man made document never acceptable as a replacement for God's Word, nor should it be considered on an equal basis with God's Word. While violations of the constitution have been numerous and seem to be the reason for the shape we're in, it is the disregard for God's Word that has proven disastrous for America as a nation. No nation has ever experienced freedom for its' citizens without a Christian influence, none. All liberty has come from God and when that is recognized and protected as the Declaration of Independence attempted to do, people have enjoyed freedom not otherwise experienced. When a government is based upon God's Word, righteousness and liberty will prevail. When it is recognized that all rights come from God and that governments by man are simply established to protect those rights from those who might want to take them away and deny such rights, then we have the proper order of man's relationship with government.
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Cor. 3:17).
There was a time when the church was a strong force in holding government accountable and it was a moral accountability. After the Constitution, rather than holding government accountable to God, it became 'holding government accountable to the people.' It became a government of, by, and for the people, and no longer a Godly government designed to protect the people's God-given rights. Still, the church had a profound influence upon secular government for many years until it gradually lost its' savour. As the influence of the church diminished, so did liberty. The church lost its' savour as it began to rely more on the constitution than it did on God's Word. As a result of the missing church, communism has installed socialism in its' place and today we see Christian children being indoctrinated in schools that would have qualified as communist schools some 100 years ago. Socialism may well be the most insidious evil in Satan's arsenal to undermine the freedom of God's people. Introduced as a benevolent way of doing good for the benefit of the group, a system of theft in the name of good works, it progresses into complete tyranny and the enslavement of those it professed to represent. Considering the extent to which socialism has today become the democratic way in America, one has to conclude that the church is missing as a restraining influence. In fact, it is the church that has been transformed into an advocate of socialism.
The Age of Reason and Enlightenment was a period of rebellion against God. It was a time of moral decline in England which gave way to increased crimes and corruption and immorality. The true church seemed to have disappeared. Yet, out of chaos and immorality were raised great speakers for God who spoke with voices of Authority. It is this Authority that has again disappeared. God's Message is one of Authority and should be spoken of with authority. God's Word is the Authority of God and it should be preached with Authority. Those who have preached with this Authority have made a great impact upon people and therefore upon government. Like the Apostles, these men were often imprisoned and persecuted, but not before they too influenced society in a moral way that saw liberty and property rights being recognized as gifts from God. Returning to the Word of God as our Authority is the only means of restoring lost liberty in this nation and it comes at great risk. Government does not recognize the Authority of God and anyone who does is considered an enemy of the state.
Today, we are saturated with false teaching, the most alarming of which is that which uses God's Word to deceive Christians. "A Purpose Driven Life," a book by Rick Warren has become widely accepted and followed by many denominations including the usually most devout churches in America, even all over the world. Because Christians have fallen away from seeking Truth and to study for themselves, they are susceptible to man's false teaching and absolutely none distort God's Word so outrageously and yet so subtle, as does the teaching / preaching of Rick Warren. If it sounds good and feels good, people want to believe it and they do. Rick Warren makes his distorted renditions of the Gospel sound good and feel good and he is leading many thousands astray. While there are a few men of sound doctrine disputing Warren's teaching, they are under funded and unpopular to the world, but I am thankful for their efforts to be a light in the darkness of that has pervaded His Church. Exposing false teaching is a Biblical requirement of the Believer. Warren preaches the Kingdom of Rick Warren, not the Kingdom of God, and his works, his books, his methods, are in direct contradiction to God's Word. Rick Warren is a liar and a deceiver. It is the Rick Warren's in the world that have disappeared the true church. Using pagan translations of the Scripture, many such as Warren, have twisted God's Message to mean what they want it to mean. What that means is that many are being led straight to hell by false prophets. To take a stand against these adversaries of Jesus Christ is not popular. To reprove these false teachings is to take a stand that will divide families and friends and turn one against another.
"You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved." Matthew 10:22
As Believers, we have a choice; be obedient to God, or be disobedient. Obedience finds liberty and hope in Jesus Christ. Disobedience begets chastisement and punishment. In the end we are either one of His, or we are living in separation from God, without hope. Those without hope try to find it on earth among worldly things. As they live separate from God, so should we try to live separately from them. We are admonished in His Word that righteousness has no business with unrighteousness; nor the clean with the unclean, neither with unequal associations, nor works of darkness. We are to identify, expose, reprove, warn, watch, study, seek, and witness. Otherwise, we are slothful and we are cowards; we are lazy and without courage. When these things are not being preached, when evil is not being identified, and when the Christian is not being taught Truth from the Word of God, one can only surmise that the church is missing.
