The Deceived Church‏

Hello Friends!

We know from the Scriptures that Satan’s plan is to deceive the whole world. His objective is to blind the minds of the unbelieving and to recruit those who have believed to become part of his agenda to set up an end-times delusion. This is what I refer to as the co-opting of the Christian Church…

 

The Deceived Church

Do you recall what Paul said would happen to the early Christian church?

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them - Acts 20:28-30

 A brief overview of church history reveals Paul’s prophetic warning was fulfilled. He said it would happen and it happened. Numerous church leaders emerged during the first to the third centuries. The foundational principles of the Scriptures were ignored and many followed the experiential teachings of men who claimed they had discovered new and innovative methods to get in touch with God.

 

So, in other words, an emerging church growth movement began to emerge or should we say diverge. The reason for this is simple.

 

We know that God’s Word is light. When we begin to replace the Word of God with enlightenment by the words of man, we have a perfect formula for returning to darkness. The mystics (we often call them the church fathers) added ideas to Biblical Christianity that cannot be found anywhere in the 66 books of the Bible text - a recipe for spiritual disaster!

 

Jude also warned about the coming apostasy in the early church. He said certain men had crept in unawares because error was not being corrected:

For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ – Jude 4

How tragic, then and now.

 

Now, let’s bring this scenario up to date in our modern age. The latest wave of church growth methodology today is known as the Emerging Church. By the way, many of the ideas being promoted today originated when many present day church leaders studied the methods that “emerged” in the first to third centuries after Christ. These leaders say we need to reincorporate their ideas if we are going to have successful churches in this Century.

 

 But wait just a minute! If the “emerging church” of the past was based on extra-biblical revelation and subjective experiences that led to many false ideas and doctrines which state that Mary was much more than what we read about her in the Bible, and that the presence of Jesus can be conjured up from a wafer by a priest, shouldn’t we be somewhat concerned? Do you recall that many of the reformers were tortured and killed because they refused to accept these kinds of “emerging church” doctrines?

 

Rather than reviving the teachings of the monks and early “church fathers,” I believe we as Bible-believing Christians should pray that such pagan practices be exposed rather than embraced. While proponents of the Emerging Church believe they are getting closer to God, they are not paying attention to – or reading – the Word of God!

 

The last days will be characterized by doctrines of demons who lead sincere Bible-believing Christians astray:

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons – 1 Timothy 4:1

The present day Emerging Church/”Sinner-Sensitive” Movement has that very same potential.

 

Contemplative Prayer

The Emerging Church Movement presently underway is riddled with teachings that contradict God’s Word. The supporters of this movement may be sincere in their efforts to reinvent Christianity for the sake of reaching this generation by making the “narrow way” a “wide way” as spoken of by Jesus Himself:

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it – Matthew 7:13-14

But I believe it is time to cry out apostasy like Jeremiah did, whether it is popular or not.

 

While some of the teachings in the Emergent Church Movement may seem rather harmless, a number of general trends reveal a form of Christianity that is in defiance of the central message of the Old and New Testaments Scriptures. For example, Brian McLaren, a well known leader of this movement, has gone on record saying that hell is not a place of judgment. Instead, he believes that hell is nothing more than what Jesus “said” the Jews would face after His departure from planet earth – His ascension to Heaven. 

 

Needless to say, McLaren makes no effort to hide the fact that he supports the “Palestine Movement” and stands against Israel. This is becoming much more commonplace among “evangelical” churches these days.

 

This commentary does not allow the space required to do this subject justice. However, if there was one item I could warn you about and one item only, it would be the onslaught of a concept called contemplative prayer. This idea is promoted as a means to get close to God. Here is what Richard Foster – one of the proponents – has to say about the practice of contemplative prayer:

“I also want to give a word of precaution. In the silent contemplation of God we are entering deeply into the spiritual realm, and there is such a thing as supernatural guidance that is not divine guidance. While the Bible does not give us a lot of information on the nature of the spiritual world, we do know… there are various orders of spiritual beings, and some of them are definitely not in cooperation with God and his way! …But for now I want to encourage you to learn and practice prayers of protection… All dark and evil spirits must now leave.” – Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home (San Francisco, CA.: Harper, 1992, First Edition) p. 157

Are you shocked? If you are not, you should be! It is a fact that Buddhists and Hindus practice this same contemplative prayer methodology as a means of getting into an altered state of consciousness. My question is simply this: Should Christians embrace the same methods used by pagans to get with God? The Bible is clear – No! What god will they get in touch with?

 

We must heed these words from the Prophet Jeremiah to the people he was called to warn:

And the Lord said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers. Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them” – Jeremiah 11:9-11

Do you see the desperate need for Jeremiah’s message today? Being led away from God and His Word by seducing spirits and doctrines of demons is a serious offense. It’s time to wake up Bible-believing Christians – or suffer the dire consequences!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

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Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

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