In the Church today...
we see people committed to FAITH...we see people committed to GRACE...we see people committed to PROSPERITY...we see people committed to GOOD WORKS...we see people committed to POSITIVE THINKING...we see people committed to SIGNS AND WONDERS...we see people committed to CONFERENCES...we see people committed to ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED...we see people committed to MANIFESTATIONS...we see people committed to RELIGION...we see people committed to MINISTRIES...we see people committed to FAME...we see people committed to ATTENDANCE...we see people committed to MARKETING...we see people committed to TITHE...we see people committed to VOLUNTEERING...we see people committed to DENOMINATIONS...we see people committed to CHURCH...
BUT...
we seldom see people committed to JESUS and THE GOSPEL!
God has been SLICED and DICED into PALATABLE PORTIONS...and He is now being served up much like HORS D'OEUVRES at a Country Club ball! Sadly...once DIVIDED, each portion has taken on a life of its own...as NEW DEFINITIONS and NEW THEOLOGIES are created.
Why? Because to divide JESUS...one must divide THE WORD OF GOD. Most often...the separation is CONTEXTUAL...as each JESUS is created by REMOVING passages from their NECESSARY placement within Scripture. Further...the ART of IGNORING takes CENTER STAGE: ignoring CONTEXT and ignoring OTHER QUALIFYING PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE.
This serves to give support to PERSONAL THEOLOGY...at the expense of TRUTH. In each case...most will defend their THEOLOGY above the infallible WORD OF GOD.
An example? Look at the Word of Faith movement.
In the WoF arena, FAITH is given the power which belongs ONLY to God. Words are given "creative power"...and FAITH is the key. Yet...few involved in the DECEPTION of WoF theology realize that it is FAITH which is EXALTED...as the POWER TRANSFER is taught and bought by the NAME-IT-CLAIM-IT crowd. Somehow...those duped by this FALSE DOCTRINE cannot see that their FAITH is no longer placed in JESUS...but their FAITH has shifted to THEIR FAITH!
Unwittingly, they ignore the fact that the WoF theology REDIRECTS the SOURCE of POWER...as the "Power of FAITH!" replaces the "Power of Jesus!" Amazingly...WoF theology strays SO FAR from TRUTH that its proponents actually "demand" and "command" God to SUBMIT to THEIR faith! Those like Kenneth Copeland have SO PERVERTED Scripture...as CONTEXT is IGNORED and even LIED ABOUT...that God is little more than a SERVANT to our every whim!
It is a SELFISH, EGOTISTICAL, MONEY-LOVING gospel...and it actually glorifies COVETOUSNESS in every area of life!
So...where have these COMMITMENTS to OUT-OF-CONTEXT passages taken the Church?
We now have:
1. The WORD OF FAITH Jesus.
2. The GREASY GRACE Jesus.
3. The RICH AND PROSPEROUS Jesus.
4. The SAVED BY WORKS Jesus.
5. The POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING Jesus.
6. The MIRACLE CIRCUS Jesus.
7. The MULTI-CONFERENCE Jesus.
8. The NON-BACKSLIDING Jesus.
9. The MAKE-YOU-SHAKE Jesus.
9. The RELIGIOUS Jesus.
10. The MINISTRY GROUPIE Jesus.
11. The FAME-SEEKING Jesus.
12. The ATTENDANCE-DRIVEN Jesus.
13. The ADVERTISING Jesus.
14. The 10% Jesus.
15. The VOLUNTEERS-CANNOT-BE-HELD-ACCO
16. The DENOMINATIONAL Jesus.
17. The BUILDING-WORSHIPPING Jesus.
It is now like a game called PICK-A-JESUS! Instead of the Church accepting Jesus AS HE IS...churches are CHOOSING the Jesus THEY WANT HIM TO BE!
It is much like preaching GRACE while ignoring JUSTICE...as God will show MERCY because of GRACE...yet His JUSTICE demands that those who REJECT grace MUST receive JUST RECOMPENCE for their sins.
It is much like preaching LOVE while ignoring OBEDIENCE...as many never realize that God loves EVERYONE the SAME...yet His LOVE will not SAVE US if we refuse to love HIM in OBEDIENCE. You see...Jesus loves EVERYONE...but not EVERYONE loves JESUS! Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments."
It is much like preaching BLESSINGS while ignoring SACRIFICE...or preaching HEAVEN while ignoring HELL...or preaching a SAVIOR while ignoring SIN!
In essence...the Church is busy PREACHING...but its message is no longer the GOSPEL! It is TAILOR-MADE ministry...with a "We will meet your need!" flavor.
For those who want little Biblical confrontation...there IS a CHURCH for YOU! For those who want ACTIVITIES to keep the kiddos busy...there IS a CHURCH for YOU! For those who want to be accepted in their sin...there IS a CHURCH for YOU! For those who want salvation without confession and repentance...there IS a CHURCH for YOU!
And...for those who want Christianity without Jesus...believe it or not...there IS a CHURCH for YOU!
Sadly...for those who want JESUS and TRUTH...there are VERY FEW CHURCHES left for YOU!
Jesus called the leaders of these PERSONAL THEOLOGY churches HIRELINGS (John 10:10)...and from HIRELINGS we learn one thing:
It is possible to love the "WORK OF THE LORD"...yet not serve the LORD OF THE WORK!
"Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your Name, cast out demons in Your Name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (Matthew 7:22-23 NKJV)
we see people committed to FAITH...we see people committed to GRACE...we see people committed to PROSPERITY...we see people committed to GOOD WORKS...we see people committed to POSITIVE THINKING...we see people committed to SIGNS AND WONDERS...we see people committed to CONFERENCES...we see people committed to ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED...we see people committed to MANIFESTATIONS...we see people committed to RELIGION...we see people committed to MINISTRIES...we see people committed to FAME...we see people committed to ATTENDANCE...we see people committed to MARKETING...we see people committed to TITHE...we see people committed to VOLUNTEERING...we see people committed to DENOMINATIONS...we see people committed to CHURCH...
BUT...
we seldom see people committed to JESUS and THE GOSPEL!
God has been SLICED and DICED into PALATABLE PORTIONS...and He is now being served up much like HORS D'OEUVRES at a Country Club ball! Sadly...once DIVIDED, each portion has taken on a life of its own...as NEW DEFINITIONS and NEW THEOLOGIES are created.
Why? Because to divide JESUS...one must divide THE WORD OF GOD. Most often...the separation is CONTEXTUAL...as each JESUS is created by REMOVING passages from their NECESSARY placement within Scripture. Further...the ART of IGNORING takes CENTER STAGE: ignoring CONTEXT and ignoring OTHER QUALIFYING PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE.
This serves to give support to PERSONAL THEOLOGY...at the expense of TRUTH. In each case...most will defend their THEOLOGY above the infallible WORD OF GOD.
An example? Look at the Word of Faith movement.
In the WoF arena, FAITH is given the power which belongs ONLY to God. Words are given "creative power"...and FAITH is the key. Yet...few involved in the DECEPTION of WoF theology realize that it is FAITH which is EXALTED...as the POWER TRANSFER is taught and bought by the NAME-IT-CLAIM-IT crowd. Somehow...those duped by this FALSE DOCTRINE cannot see that their FAITH is no longer placed in JESUS...but their FAITH has shifted to THEIR FAITH!
Unwittingly, they ignore the fact that the WoF theology REDIRECTS the SOURCE of POWER...as the "Power of FAITH!" replaces the "Power of Jesus!" Amazingly...WoF theology strays SO FAR from TRUTH that its proponents actually "demand" and "command" God to SUBMIT to THEIR faith! Those like Kenneth Copeland have SO PERVERTED Scripture...as CONTEXT is IGNORED and even LIED ABOUT...that God is little more than a SERVANT to our every whim!
It is a SELFISH, EGOTISTICAL, MONEY-LOVING gospel...and it actually glorifies COVETOUSNESS in every area of life!
So...where have these COMMITMENTS to OUT-OF-CONTEXT passages taken the Church?
We now have:
1. The WORD OF FAITH Jesus.
2. The GREASY GRACE Jesus.
3. The RICH AND PROSPEROUS Jesus.
4. The SAVED BY WORKS Jesus.
5. The POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING Jesus.
6. The MIRACLE CIRCUS Jesus.
7. The MULTI-CONFERENCE Jesus.
8. The NON-BACKSLIDING Jesus.
9. The MAKE-YOU-SHAKE Jesus.
9. The RELIGIOUS Jesus.
10. The MINISTRY GROUPIE Jesus.
11. The FAME-SEEKING Jesus.
12. The ATTENDANCE-DRIVEN Jesus.
13. The ADVERTISING Jesus.
14. The 10% Jesus.
15. The VOLUNTEERS-CANNOT-BE-HELD-ACCO
16. The DENOMINATIONAL Jesus.
17. The BUILDING-WORSHIPPING Jesus.
It is now like a game called PICK-A-JESUS! Instead of the Church accepting Jesus AS HE IS...churches are CHOOSING the Jesus THEY WANT HIM TO BE!
It is much like preaching GRACE while ignoring JUSTICE...as God will show MERCY because of GRACE...yet His JUSTICE demands that those who REJECT grace MUST receive JUST RECOMPENCE for their sins.
It is much like preaching LOVE while ignoring OBEDIENCE...as many never realize that God loves EVERYONE the SAME...yet His LOVE will not SAVE US if we refuse to love HIM in OBEDIENCE. You see...Jesus loves EVERYONE...but not EVERYONE loves JESUS! Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments."
It is much like preaching BLESSINGS while ignoring SACRIFICE...or preaching HEAVEN while ignoring HELL...or preaching a SAVIOR while ignoring SIN!
In essence...the Church is busy PREACHING...but its message is no longer the GOSPEL! It is TAILOR-MADE ministry...with a "We will meet your need!" flavor.
For those who want little Biblical confrontation...there IS a CHURCH for YOU! For those who want ACTIVITIES to keep the kiddos busy...there IS a CHURCH for YOU! For those who want to be accepted in their sin...there IS a CHURCH for YOU! For those who want salvation without confession and repentance...there IS a CHURCH for YOU!
And...for those who want Christianity without Jesus...believe it or not...there IS a CHURCH for YOU!
Sadly...for those who want JESUS and TRUTH...there are VERY FEW CHURCHES left for YOU!
Jesus called the leaders of these PERSONAL THEOLOGY churches HIRELINGS (John 10:10)...and from HIRELINGS we learn one thing:
It is possible to love the "WORK OF THE LORD"...yet not serve the LORD OF THE WORK!
"Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your Name, cast out demons in Your Name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (Matthew 7:22-23 NKJV)
