Why is the 21st Century
Church Failing So Miserably?
(or has it died and we just haven’t
buried it yet?)
By Dr. Ken Matto
(Acts 20:29-31 KJV) For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous
wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. {30} Also of your own selves
shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
{31} Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased
not to warn every one night and day with tears.
Recently I have been coming across many published articles dealing with the fact
that the church is dying. This is really an amazing declaration but if we look
around at many of the churches, we can understand what is happening. (Heb
13:8 KJV) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Hebrews 13:8 assures us that the Lord Jesus Christ is the same whether it be
yesterday, today, or tomorrow. Jesus even told us He will build His church and
the gates of hell will not prevail against it. (Mat 16:18 KJV) And I say
also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So then what is
happening to the church that it has been highly infiltrated by Satan and his
false teachings? First of all we must realize that the church which Jesus had in
view is not the local assembly but is the eternal church of God. The local
assembly is where the believers meet on a weekly or semi-weekly basis for
fellowship and encouragement.
Since the inception of the church there have always been unbelievers as part of
the congregation, even in seemingly solid churches where everyone looks saved.
(Mat 13:25 KJV) But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among
the wheat, and went his way. Jesus warned us about this in the parable of
the wheat and tares. This is why we must be very discerning when getting others
involved in ministry, to make sure they are saved and have the same goals as we
do. As we approach the end of time, we are seeing a phenomenon happen at an
alarming rate and that is the take over of the local church by unbelievers or
the take over of a local church by unbelieving doctrine and practices under the
authority of believers who seem to have been blinded to truth. Even the church
in Philadelphia where it is the only church which Jesus did not have
anything against had but “a little strength.” (Rev 3:8 KJV) I know thy works:
behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou
hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Why only a little strength? Why could it not have great strength since the Holy
Spirit indwelled all the true believers?
The main reason that the local churches have suffered satanic infiltration, is
because of what Jesus told us back in Matthew 13:25. That is, that while the men
slept, the enemy sowed the tares among the wheat. Let me bring it up to date.
Unqualified and undiscerning leadership in the churches have allowed the
entrance of false teaching and practices to enter the church to the point that
they have replaced and taken over the orthodox practices and biblical teachings
which churches held for so long. It is these practices which have blurred and
removed the lines between the holy and the profane, thus replacing the true mode
of worship with a counterfeit.
In Acts 20, the Apostle Paul had given a stern warning to the elders of the
church at Ephesus. That warning was more like a prophecy. Before Paul had
departed from Ephesus, he stated that there would be grievous wolves who would
enter the churches and would not give any heed to the spiritual well-being of
the church. In fact, out of the congregations would arise the false teachers
which would draw people away from them and Paul had continually warned them that
this was going to happen. He did not just give them a one time warning but gave
that warning continually for three years so they would prepare for that time and
be ready to confront and remove the false teachers before they infected the
congregations.
The embryonic church was on the lookout for these people and in fact some of
them are named in the Bible such as Diotrephes. (3 John 1:9-10 KJV) I wrote
unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them,
receiveth us not. {10} Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he
doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith,
neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would,
and casteth them out of the church. Diotrephes was a person who
fashioned himself to be a church boss and nothing happened in that church unless
he sanctioned it. He may have been a person of prominence and that is why he was
allowed to get away with treating the brethren like garbage. He did not
recognize the apostleship of John and that is why he was refused a welcome in
that church. The name “Diotrephes” means “nourished by Jupiter” and that tells
you exactly who his god was and that is why he rejected the true brethren. The
name of the Church where he was boss is not given in Scripture and there may be
a reason for that.
(Rev 2:5 KJV) Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent,
and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove
thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. Remember the church
where Paul had warned the elders for three years and that was the church of
Ephesus. In Revelation 2:5, Jesus warns the church at Ephesus if they do not
repent, then He will remove their candlestick out of “his place.” Now we must
look at what the candlestick is according to Scripture. (Rev 1:20 KJV) The
mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven
golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches:
and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Notice what
Revelation 1:20 is saying, that the candlestick is the actual church or
congregation. The reason that the name of the Church where Diotrephes was church
boss is not mentioned is because the church or Christians tolerated him and that
resulted in them being removed from the other churches which were still alive.
In other words, all it took was a church boss to be removed from the
candlesticks of the living church. Christ judged that congregation and removed
them from His living church.
This is a very important principle and a serious warning to every church. If
Christ is not the head of the individual congregation, then that church will be
removed from the living candlesticks and will quickly degenerate into rank
apostasy. (Col 1:18 KJV) And he is the head of the body, the church: who is
the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the
preeminence. Many congregations have been removed from the living
candlesticks and they do not even know it. We will be looking at some of the
most serious sins the church has been making which has caused them to be removed
from the living candlesticks and those who are on the road to being removed.
This is not something to be rejected but is a matter of eternal consequence.
Therefore, I will not be easy on these matters because Jesus is not easy on
these matters. We better stop with this “oh I’m offended” nonsense and get real
in our Christian walk. If you get offended by truth, then you are of no value to
the Kingdom of God. You are supposed to be living in truth! Let us now look at
some of the teachings, methods, and diversions the church has implemented to
their own destruction.
A Diverted Focus
(Mat 11:29 KJV) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
The primary reason that the Lord Jesus Christ formed the church was for the
purpose of learning about Him and that salvation only comes through Him. (Heb
10:7 KJV) Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of
me,) to do thy will, O God. The Bible is written about the Lord Jesus
Christ and we meet together on Sunday for the purpose of learning about Christ.
What has happened in the churches is that the message of Christ has been slowly
neutralized and removed. Now when one goes into a church, they will no longer
hear sermons which edify but will watch plays or hear fantasy stories about
Israel. It seems that in the church the counterfeit nation of Israel has
supplanted the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Reaching the Youth” Excuse
I think that it is absolutely amazing that the churches bring in full bands,
worship teams, overhead projectors and exude sounds like a football game being
played to reach the youth. Having adopted the charismatic method of doing
church, their excuse for having these entertainers on the platform during the
Sunday morning service is that we have to reach the youth and people of all
ages. Isn't it ironic that there is an exodus of the youth out of the churches
today? Looks like the Sunday morning entertainment did not work or maybe God's
hand of blessing is off those churches who have prostituted the worship
services! Isn't it something that for the first 1930 years the church was wrong
in its outreach to all ages until the charismatic movement was formed and then
they got it right?
Or was the church right for the first 1930 years in its outreach with the true
gospel along with godly music and has fallen to Satan and his leading in the
last 40 years and that is why the church has pitifully failed to reach the
youth? Since when is Rock of Ages, Amazing Grace, or To God Be The Glory not
worship and praise music? When someone plays rock and roll on their radio or
Ipad on Saturday night and then Sunday morning they hear the same tempo, beat,
and loudness, then tell me, where is the difference between the holy and the
profane? (Ezek 22:26 KJV) Her priests have violated my law, and have
profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and
profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean,
and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
I would like to see some Scripture backing up the concept of reaching the youth
only without concern for the other age groups. Since when is the youth the only
group the church is to focus on? Many churches have been destroyed under the
guise of “reaching the youth.” What I mean by destroyed is that they have traded
the true Gospel and the Gospel hymns for the sound of the “religious nightclub”
on Sunday morning. As a youth, when I was growing up, I sang hymns from the
Psalter Hymnal which had hymns from the time of the Reformation. There were no
rock and roll bands up front, no big screen, no projector, and no pastor who
dressed like a slob, like he just crawled out of a bar. All the men wore suits
and the pastor wore a suit. Guess what, even without all that nightclub style
entertainment, I got saved anyway. We also used the King James Bible and didn’t
need trash like the Good News Bible or the Voice to “make the Bible easier to
understand.”
Replacement of Godly Hymns
One of the greatest sins the church has gladly adopted was the removal of the
old hymns and replacing them with so-called “praise songs.” Here is an example
of a praise song versus one of the old hymns:
Alive, Alive
Alive, alive, alive forevermore
My Jesus is alive, alive forevermore
Alive, alive, alive forevermore
My Jesus is alive
Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah
My Jesus is alive forevermore
Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah
My Jesus is alive!
Low in the Grave He Lay
Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,
Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Refrain
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior;
Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!
Refrain
Death cannot keep its Prey, Jesus my Savior;
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
Refrain
When we compare the teachings of the charismatic praise song to the teaching of
the hymn “Low in the Grave He Lay,” we will see a tremendous amount of biblical
teaching in that hymn that is missing in that praise song.
1) He physically died - John 19:33
2) He was bodily buried - Matthew 27:60
3) His bodily resurrection was prophesied - Matthew 20:19
4) Jesus is alive forever more because He rose from the dead - Mark 16:9
5) Jesus is called Savior - John 4:42
6) Jesus is called Lord - Revelation 19:16
Those six biblical teachings are found in just the first two lines of the first
stanza. When we look at the shallowness of the modern “praise songs” we can get
a good understanding of why today’s Christian is so shallow and unable to
discern between true and false teachings. Those praise songs are sung
repetitively like a Hindu mantra. Instead of true biblical teachings going into
the mind, the mind is closed when these repetitious songs are sung because they
cause the mind to be in a rote state instead of a learning state. The
replacement of the old hymns was one of the biggest defeats for the church and
one of the greatest victories for Satan.
When one sang from the hymnbooks, they were focused on the words and were
looking at the hymnbook. Now with the churches using the overhead projector, the
people look at each other and see who is doing what and then try to out do one
another by swaying harder or speaking in tongues, or whatever will draw a
person’s attention away from the screen. I saw this happen at a ministry I used
to go to for bible conferences. When they had the hymnbooks, we focused on the
hymn we were singing but as soon as they did away with the hymnbooks and went to
the overhead screen, then the same group started with the swaying, like somebody
left open a window and the wind caused them to sway.
Musical Instruments
Many churches have completely done away with the organ or organ and piano
combination. They have been replaced with full bands. Somehow the increasing of
the decibel level in the church is supposed to increase one’s spirituality. On
the contrary, it does just the opposite. It increases their fleshly response.
Now people are responding not only by swaying, but jumping up and down and other
bodily movements which cause others to watch. The church now becomes a sensual
arena. Reach the youth right? The organ and piano playing the old hymns brought
a sense of reverence to the church.
In Leviticus 19:30, God had commanded Israel in two areas: The first was the
Sabbath and the second was reverence. (Lev 19:30 KJV) Ye shall keep my
sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. Israel was to reverence the
sanctuary of God. When Leviticus was written, Israel was still in the
wilderness and the tabernacle was their central place of worship. God tells them
that they were to keep the Sabbaths and reverence His sanctuary.
The people were not to do any servile work on the Sabbath because it represented
the seventh day of creation when God rested from His works and it represents
salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. We can do nothing for our salvation,
and that also means we cannot add to our salvation in any manner. This is why
the Sabbath was a day of total rest because we rest in Calvary for our salvation
since it was complete. The second command in the verse is God commanding Israel
to reverence His sanctuary. They were not to bring anything into the tabernacle
and later the temple which was of the world. They were not to bring anything in
which would represented a false religion such as an idol from one of the
surrounding false religions. It was idolatry which finally led to the fall of
both Israel and Judah in the divided kingdom era. Nothing worldly was to be
brought into the sanctuary because it was an abomination unto the Lord. Many of
the ancient religions had prostitution and sodomy in their temples and that is
why God commanded that nothing of that should come into the sanctuary. God’s
sanctuary was to be holy and reverenced.
Enter the modern church with its rock and roll sound coming from the full band.
These bands have the same volume level as bands in nightclubs and have the same
beat as the secular songs. This does not minister to the spirit as the old hymns
did with the organ. It caused us to dwell upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The full
bands do not even come close to a spiritual atmosphere because they mimic the
world and its loud music.
In the verses preceding verse 30, we read this. (Lev 19:27-29 KJV) Ye shall
not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy
beard. {28} Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print
any marks upon you: I am the LORD. {29} Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause
her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of
wickedness. The idolatrous priests had trimmed their beards in such a
manner. Then in the next verse it speaks about cuttings in the flesh. Some would
make carvings in their flesh of an idol and even mutilate their bodies in
deference to a king or their false religion. Not only were they to avoid making
any cuttings which drew blood, but they were also prohibited from making any
marks on their bodies. In pagan civilizations, they would use ink or black lead
to write or draw upon their bodies. Then the parents were warned not to
prostitute their daughters in any fashion as they did in the false religions.
The result would be that the land or whole country would be infected with that
sin and the land would be considered wicked by God and then He would have to
deal with it like He did with Sodom and Gomorrah.
All one has to do is look at a picture of many of the Christians rock bands and
you will see them loaded with tattoos and earrings and other pagan attire, then
when you are allowing your sons and daughters to listen to this type of music,
then you are prostituting them because they have left the true music of
reverence and have replaced it with the world’s beat with religious lyrics. Just
look at the pictures of some of these Christian rock bands and see if you really
want to have your children listen to them, or better yet, fall prey to Satan’s
counterfeits. Here are two:
“We as Human” - http://www.weashuman.com/
“As I Lay Dying” - http://asilaydying.com/about
Counterfeit Bibles
One of the main reasons the church has degenerated to the point of death is
because it has removed the real Bible from its ministry. The NIV has 64,000
words missing. Would you consider that an accurate version? Would you fly on an
airplane which was missing 64,000 parts? When the King James Bible was being
used in the churches, you heard a message which was blessed of God because it
originated in the Bible and you went no further in searching because you had the
answer. Now all you hear from the pulpit is, “The NIV translates it this way but
the NASV states it that way and The Message gives it this way.” By the time the
pastor gets done, there is more confusion than understanding. When we had the
God blessed King James Bible, there was no question what God was saying and
people learned. How do you think those who attended church understood and even
those who were unbelievers could quote the Bible properly. Here are just a few
examples of the corruption:
1 John 5:13
(KJV) These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son
of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life,
and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
(NIV) I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so
that you may know that you have eternal life.
There are thirteen words missing from this verse and take a look at the
importance of the teaching in the missing part.
Romans 8:1
(KJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
(NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
There are ten words missing from this verse and take a look at what is missing.
Those who walk according to the Spirit are giving evidence that they are saved.
When the International Bible Society decided to revise the 1984 NIV, Keith
Danby, the President and CEO stated "And we'll make sure we get it right this
time." The name of the Company has been changed to Biblica. The two verses I
picked were from the 2011 NIV. Did it look like they got it right?
The problem here is that the counterfeit bibles which many churches have chosen
to use and accept are as corrupt as the music they have chosen to accept. There
is no such thing as an “easy to understand” bible. All real bible study requires
real study time. You may think that God looks gleefully upon all these modern
versions which come out about one every six months, but the bottom line is that
since the 1901 American Standard Version came out and was used by the churches,
it started to chip away at the power the churches had until eventually they
became nothing but social clubs and places of entertainment. Wherever you find a
false church, you will find a false modern version with all of its corruptions.
How does God look upon this:
(Deu 4:2 KJV) Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither
shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD
your God which I command you.
(Prov 30:5-6 KJV) Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them
that put their trust in him. {6} Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove
thee, and thou be found a liar.
(Rev 22:18-19 KJV) For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the
prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add
unto him the plagues that are written in this book: {19} And if any man shall
take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his
part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things
which are written in this book.
God placed these warnings at the beginning of the Bible, the middle of the Bible
and the end of the Bible. God does not take the tampering of His word lightly.
The Lord Jesus Christ is closely associated with the written word and when it is
corrupted, it is like trying to make the Lord Jesus Christ corrupt. If that
could happen, there would be no salvation. God will also not bless those
churches which have taken His true word and removed it. We can see that those
churches which use the modern versions are the very ones which have fallen prey
to Satan and his methods of destruction. They have also become so liberal that
they accept every kind of false teaching without question.
Uncalled or Unqualified Clergy
(Heb 5:4 KJV) And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is
called of God, as was Aaron.
The writer to the Hebrews was discussing the office of High Priest in these
verses and states that no man takes the office by self-appointing himself but
only those who are called of God to do it. (Eph 4:11 KJV) And he gave some,
apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; The mistaken notion today is the pastor is somehow the head of
the local church. As we see in Ephesians 4:11, the pastor is a spiritual gift
and not a ruling gift. His only function is to have spiritual oversight over the
congregation. He is not to be the ruling monarch which cannot be challenged. He
is not a king but only a teacher. In the majority of, if not all, churches, the
pastor has been placed as the unquestioned ruler who has supreme authority to do
as he wishes.
(1 Cor 12:11 KJV) But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit,
dividing to every man severally as he will. The Holy Spirit is the one who
gives out the spiritual gifts to each Christian. He implants them at the point
of salvation and eventually the Christian will know where they are qualified to
minister. One thing is for sure, the Holy Spirit did not plant the spiritual
gift of being a pastor in every Christian. It is a specific calling like
evangelist or teacher. Since the spiritual gifts have been so prostituted in the
church, everybody is literally doing what they want to do and not what they are
empowered to do. The spiritual gifts have been trampled on and people are
picking their own ministries which they desire and not necessarily empowered to
do.
This is why we have so many street corner churches which are run by men with
titles such as Bishop, Apostle, Prophet, etc. They have literally appointed
themselves as pastors and the main reason that the majority of them do it is
because it is easy money. They are not the only ones who have appointed
themselves as pastors because in many main line churches there are those who are
unqualified or uncalled. Many are called because of family affiliation. You can
tell those who are unqualified or uncalled because their main emphasis is not on
the things of the Lord. One of the main tells of an unqualified pastor is the
fact that they are not conduits to lead you to the Lord but stop your spiritual
growth at their books or their teachings. Here is a good and recent example of
an unqualified and uncalled pastor:
EUGENE – A minister in Oregon has a launched a
sermon series entitled ‘Church Sucks,’ and is announcing seeker-friendly changes
to his Sunday services, as a way to attract people who dislike church.
Tony Crank, who leads One Love Church in Eugene, claims that churches talk too
much about sin, and are not welcoming enough to visitors.
From: The Christian News - 10/1/13
When someone makes a statement like “church sucks” really has no idea what they
are saying. The word “Church” comes from the Greek word “kuriakos” which means
“belonging to the Lord.” So what this uncalled pastor is stating is that what
belongs to the Lord, “sucks.” A real nice way to express himself to the people.
He is more concerned about attracting people than telling them of their
spiritual condition. It seems many churches are just as much a portal to hell as
a night club.
Let us briefly look at some of the ways you can spot an uncalled or unqualified
pastor:
1. They tend to change things in the church on a spur of the moment. Look how
many pastors destroyed local churches when they adopted Rick Warren’s “Purpose
Driven Church.”
2. They tend to follow the latest fads without any serious investigation. How
many are involved in “soaking?”
3. They will quote unbelievers from the pulpit in their messages such as the
Mystics like Teresa of Avila or Thomas Merton.
4. They make unholy alliances with unbelievers. There are 20,000 pastors in the
USA which have aligned themselves with FEMA for the purpose of controlling the
people when the time comes for martial law. How about Rick Warren and Richard
Land belonging to the CFR? The pro-life movement has been used of Satan to bring
together true bible believing churches with false religions such as Roman
Catholics or Mormons.
5. They tend to feel threatened when others in the congregation show promise.
Instead of them rejoicing that they have some solid thinking Christians in their
churches, they instead feel threatened and embark on a plan to have them removed
from the congregation.
6. They hand pick their elders to insure that they are never challenged to the
point they have to leave.
7. They never preach the full counsel of God. They always preach sermons that
make the sinners and good givers feel good.
8. Rejects the idea of accountability to anyone. Believes that he can do as he
pleases when he pleases.
9. He is more concerned with activities outside the church than those in the
church. Is he running from meeting to meeting, seminar to seminar, pastoral
conference to pastoral conference all at church expense? How available is he to
the congregation?
10. He wants increased pay and benefits but does nothing to earn it. Has the
church grown since he was installed as pastor? Are Christians in the church much
more biblically astute now than when he started?
11. He allows anyone to join the church without screening them. This allows easy
entry for false teachings into the church. Numbers, not faithfulness, are
important to him.
12. He allows anyone to take communion without reinforcing the fact that one
must be born again to partake or they risk serious consequences as written in 1
Corinthians 11:19-34. Many churches believe that forgiveness of sins is
available through communion. They call it a “means of grace.” The Lord’s Supper
is a remembrance and not a means of salvation. (1 Cor 11:24-25 KJV) And when
he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is
broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. {25} After the same manner also he
took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my
blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
13. They dress like slobs. Ever since Rick Warren introduced his Purpose Driven
Church system, it encouraged pastors to shed their suits and dress like street
people. Many now dress in dungarees and t-shirts looking like they just came in
from hanging around on a street corner. Instead of continuing to dress properly
and setting a real example for the youth, they instead try to identify
themselves with being a teenager again. Dressing down has brought the quality of
church down.
It is basically easy to spot a false pastor because they seem totally void of
the seriousness of the eternal soul. Instead of them ministering to the spirit
and desiring to see people saved and discipled in the Faith, they care more
about ministering to the flesh. (Rom 13:14 KJV) But put ye on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Ministering to the flesh never causes spiritual growth, it causes spiritual
degeneration.
Allowance and Acceptance of Women Preachers
and Elders
The charismatic movement has once again introduced another violation of the
Scriptures. (1 Tim 2:12 KJV) But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp
authority over the man, but to be in silence. When a woman teaches or
preaches in the congregation, they are taking authority over the men in that
congregation. This infection has spread to many mainline denominations. The
United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America, and others now ordain women as a normal practice. What has
enforced this unbiblical practice is the national ministries of false
preacherettes like Joyce Meyer, Paula White, or Marilyn Hickey et al. Women see
these women on TV with large multi-million dollar ministries and grasp at the
mistaken belief that just because they have millions of dollars, mansions, and
private jets that they have the favor of God. In actuality, when someone defies
Scripture and seems to prosper in this world, they have been given the blessings
by Satan.
Remember what Satan said to Jesus in his temptation of Christ? (Mat 4:8-9
KJV) Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth
him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; {9} And saith unto
him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
All Jesus would have to do is to bow down and worship Satan and he would give
Him the kingdoms of this world and that would mean the wealth of those kingdoms
too. Those who intentionally defy the words of God are worshipping Satan. This
is why these false ministries have millions of dollars and the women live in
mansions, because they have fallen down and worshipped Satan and the great
delusion is they think they are serving God.
(Gen 3:16 KJV) Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow
and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire
shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Since she had
disobeyed God, she will now be ruled over by her husband. When these women
preachers get up there and preach, they are exercising authority over their
husbands because the word of God is authority. (Titus 2:4-5 KJV) That they
may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their
children, {5} To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their
own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. God further describes
the role of the woman. The older women are to be examples to the younger women
and the younger women are to be family minded and keepers at home and be
obedient to their husbands. Nowhere in the early churches were women called to
preach. It is another end time phenomenon. Speaking of women Elders, how can
they be the husband of one wife? (Titus 1:5-6 KJV) For this cause left I
thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and
ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: {6} If any be blameless,
the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
Acceptance of Tongues
Another evil trait of the charismatic movement which has leaked out into
churches is the acceptance of tongues as messages from God. In Acts 2 and 1
Corinthians 14, tongues represented legitimate languages and not the gibberish
of the modern tongues movement. Tongues were used by God to transmit the gospel
in the embryonic church, up until the time the Bible was completed. Then once
that happened there was no more use for tongues because God had given all the
information in the Bible He wanted to and completed it with Revelation in 95
A.D. Another reason that we know modern tongues is fraudulent is because false
religions and cults use them. Tongues are used in the Catholic charismatic
movement. The same sounds are heard in Voodoo in Haiti and the Shamans in Africa
which have been attested to by many missionaries. The Mormons speak in tongues
because Joseph Smith claimed that they believe in that phenomenon. So any church
which accepts tongues are accepting the same thing Satan’s people speak in
various milieus, giving another example of a false church.
Acceptance of Homosexuality
One of the newest signs of a dead church is the acceptance of homosexuality.
Some churches are already performing sodomite marriages. Any church which folds
under political or social pressure to accept sodomy as an alternative lifestyle
is a dead church and I would not let my neighbor’s dog go near it. As the
homosexual agenda for marriage is bursting on the scene, it continues to focus
on the church and Christian businesses. Christians seem to forget that the God
of the universe stands behind them when they obey Him and reject the evil in the
world. According to false teachers Rick Warren and Joel Osteen, the church will
be performing same sex marriages by 2016. This will happen if the pastors and
elders of the churches choose to obey Satan and not God. They will do it under
the fear of losing their tax exempt status. Tell me, how much tax exemption is
there going to be in Hell? If the church does not stand against this attack,
then they will go out of existence and rightly so. Sodomy is one of the great
end time signs. Whenever any empire or country glorified sodomy like here in the
USA, that empire or country was taken down. Two empires are the Roman Empire and
the Grecian Empire. The next one to go will be the Empire of the USA which is
already being eaten from the inside out with iniquity and the churches are
totally silent.
Summary
Let us just list the evidences of the dead church:
1) Diverted Focus
2) Reaching the Youth Excuse
3) Replacement of Godly Hymns
4) Musical Instruments
5) Counterfeit Bibles
6) Uncalled or unqualified Clergy
7) Allowance and Acceptance of Women Preachers and Elders
8) Acceptance of Tongues
9) Acceptance of Homosexuality
When we look at these 9 major acceptances by the church, is it any wonder why
the local assembly is dead? The church has done everything they could to
displace God and place their own beliefs on the altar of worship. The local
church like the Christian bookstore has become a very dangerous place for
Christians. When we see what is coming out of the seminaries, it only shows us
the church had a past and not a future. As long as we have clergy without
discernment or clergy without salvation, we will see the death of the church on
a massive scale. Now this does not mean that every assembly is dead but a great
majority of them are and it is very hard to find any church which does not have
any of the nine infections I listed above. When the church should be at its
strongest, especially in the time we live in, it has become weaker and weaker
and it seems the Christian is going in the same way.
(Jude 1:11 KJV) Woe unto them! for they
have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for
reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.