March 14, 2023

The Lie that Exists in Contemporary Christianity: Part Four

Many in our churches suppose they are saved. They read the Bible, at least sometimes, they go to church, at least sometimes, they confess Jesus Christ as their savior, most of them acknowledge sin and try to live a Christian life as well as they can, they are baptized. But they are not transformed, they still have enmity in their heart against the Lord who died for them, view him as unfair in everything; some even have hate in their hearts, many of these false views come from the false doctrines being preached in the churches. They teach that God loves everyone unconditionally, that he hates the sin but not the sinner (but God does not cast sin into hell but the one who commits sin), that salvation is in a way a choice man does, God has just paved the way, Jesus has died for every man who ever lived; now you only have to receive him in faith and you are saved, you belong to heaven and God will heal you, and bless you, and be a Father to you, and you only have to receive all the blessings that God is raining down on you.

Sometimes you have preachers from the Word of Faith movement come, then things really are happening, they stand there in the pulpit and when they are finished everyone realizes that they are the lousiest Christians in the whole world because these Word of Faith prophets speak into existence a wife, money, houses, cars, and boats, but they have to be very careful with their own words because they can nearly kill themselves uttering a wrong word, since they are little gods with fiat creation possibilities. God could not get enough of blessing them; the listener has nothing of this. They teach that we must believe, everything depends on your faith, not on God but on man’s faith; you must pray in a certain way, use the right words to unlock the power of God, and to speak into creation, just like God himself, and if anyone has thoughts of error then it is a demon of that error that needs to be rebuked, the power of man in the Word of Faith movement is great, they are truly little gods. And much of their teaching has gained a foothold in the churches in Sweden, and of course, since many of the churches accept that God talks to them daily about everything, and if God has said a thing, that you could never question, since no one would question God, and what are these self-appointed prophets citing: “Touch not mine anointed, And do my prophets no harm” (1 Chr. 16:22). These false prophets are using the Word of God for their own vain gain. This is still prevalent in the churches and is one of the most dangerous things that are going on that God is still giving revelation, and people are misusing this for their own gain.

Every so-called revival the last forty or fifty years has been hard for the churches to discern, because they do not know or understand the Word of God. In April 2022 someone wrote in one of the Christian newspapers that many were too eager to criticize some of these revivals, because it most certainly was God, even if many of the signs were people lying on the ground howling like dogs; too much good come out of it not to be from God, they say.

Where is God in that people are lying on the ground shaking and howling, it sounds more to me like when God humbled Saul who was on a mission to kill David; twice it happened to Saul’s messengers (1 Sam. 19:20-21), then when Saul himself came to Ramah says the Scripture: “and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah. And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?” One commentator writes: “Evidently, under control of God’s Spirit, Saul was entranced in such a way that he completely disarmed himself and disrobed from all the emblems of his royal office. Saul was thus humiliated by God as he threatened the life of God’s anointed servant, and God overcame his enemy in such a way as to bring praise to his name. The proverbial saying that resulted, “Is Saul also among the prophets?,” was not an expression of praise but of bewilderment at the erratic conduct of the godless ruler.”[1]

This description sounds more like what we witnessed. I do not know what kind of spirit that was unleashed but God is synonymous with order and peace, not of confusion and disorder (1 Cor. 14:33). God does not want to have his holy name dragged into the mud or taken in vain. All such signs that we saw cannot be of God.

Another article (April 2022) states that Hillsong has never compromised the message about Jesus Christ. When I was reading that I wondered what kind of Bible she was reading, it cannot be the same I am reading in. Because every time they asked Carl Lentz for example about what Jesus’ view was on abortion, hell, sin and so on, then he said that Jesus never talked about moral; that is a lie, the Son of God talked about moral every day. You can open nearly any page in the gospel and read about what he said about covetousness, lust, pride, lies, about saying one thing and doing another, about the deceitfulness of the heart. Jesus talked about morals. As God is he the author of the moral law (the Ten Commandments) that still is to be followed.

In Sweden are the Pentecostal movement meeting in a big conference every June, in 2022 the archbishop of the Church of Sweden was invited to preach, this caused some vexation, because our archbishop does believe in evolution, she does not believe in the virgin birth of Jesus and she believes that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.[2] This is the trait of an unbeliever. The faithful in the Swedish Christianity did not like this, and that is very correct, we shall not have anything to do with the archbishop since she is not a Christian with this heretical view but the leader of the Swedish Pentecostal movement who has not said a word in the debates regarding hell or homosexuality was quick to write a long article claiming that the wind blows wherever it wants, and he says that denying women’s leadership in the church is as bad as denying the Trinity; many concurred with him. And he could not help himself but to cite, “the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (2 Cor. 3:6).[3] The Pentecostals love to do that. And we are to be humble, I concur with that, but he says that we shall be humble with our beliefs. Meaning that we have not the full truth and maybe they can teach us something. We shall always study, but we shall study the Word of God and not listen to any person that denies the incarnate Word, even if that person is the archbishop of the Church of Sweden. For if the whole Pentecostal theology he affirms only are beliefs, a system of beliefs, then must I ask, does his faith save and sanctify? Because if his beliefs which he claims are based on the Bible cannot see that denying the virgin birth for example also disqualifies saving faith; because if Jesus were not true God and true man, he could not save man, then is his faith meaningless and false. It is very important what we believe and that we protect our faith. The leader of the Pentecostal movement should know that in his heart. They have no love of doctrines.

The theology of the church has changed dramatically, and no one seems to see or acknowledge that. They have been so influenced by this modern society and they seem to think that they must run the congregations like big media companies, because they have lost the notion that salvation, the whole process is of God and of him alone. They think that they need to lure them in with music that is enchanting, with a message that makes the modern man feel safe, and at home and affirmed in everything. We have, therefore, all these falsely converted members in our churches. They are not converted and transformed by God, they are persuaded by the pastor to be a Christian, they have made a decision to be a Christian. That will never work.

People have made thousands of decisions, both of a temporal and of an eternal kind, and no one will work, they will give up on all of them, that is the nature of sin in man. A decision will not work; it is impossible; therefore, it is a false belief that salvation without true conversion, without transformation by the Holy Spirit will lead anywhere. But this is what our congregations look like, people that are persuaded and have decided to be a Christian, and people who have been called by God and are transformed by the sovereign power of the Holy Spirit to be what God has called them to be. There is a big difference between these two Christians and when we start to understand that, then will many things be explained. It is, therefore, also a bad idea to have the congregation run by democratic rule, because all members of a congregation are not truly saved. There need to be faithful and transformed men as elders to be vigil over the doctrines and worship and faith in the congregation.

All these unconverted men and women in the congregations can truly be saved by God in God’s own time, I am not saying that, but that they have influence on a congregation’s doctrine, faith and worship is truly detrimental. You can be a member of a church if you confess (there it is again) Jesus Christ as your savior and Lord and are baptized. You do not need to be transformed, you do not need to acknowledge any doctrines or confessions that exist. You can deny everything in the Bible or parts of it, you can still be a member and have a vote on its doctrine, faith, and worship. Wrong understanding of what salvation means can have a tremendous impact on our congregations, and we read about it daily in our Christian newspapers, that members have a different view on for example marriage and homosexuality, and if there be enough members with a heretic view then will that heretic view win and will be a part of that church’s continued progress in sin and denial of the Word of God, and of God himself.

Democracy is the best we have in our society but in the church where anyone can have a vote cannot be the best way, especially if anyone can be a member; we need to understand this. In other congregations you may instead have a strong leader that decides everything and that is equally bad. I am simplifying many things because many congregations have elders that shall watch over the congregation’s faith, worship, and doctrine but reality itself demonstrates that they fall short of this holy assignment. Every member of the congregation belongs to the decision-making body of the congregation, and at the annual meeting, and at the meeting of the congregation, every member has a vote; its preparatory and executive body is the board. It is clear instead that the church should be under the rule of godly elders who should determine matters of membership, policy, doctrine, discipline, benevolence, and government.[4] And remember that Christ has the supreme authority over the church as the Bible has supreme authority over doctrine, not personal feelings that seems to be the supreme authority over the modern man, where nothing is true since truth is subjectivity.

I am not at all familiar with how congregations are run outside of Sweden, but I believe many have the same problems. The biggest problem is that every member has a vote on things pertaining to the church and its doctrine and teaching, while this member could be against all things concerning God and his Word. Sometimes the Church instead does not vote on doctrine but changes it, nonetheless. The other problem is that elders who should watch vigilantly over the congregation, its doctrines and teachings are sleeping, they do nothing, and many of them know nothing at all. The Bible literacy has gone down, we live such hectic life, so no one has the time to read the Bible, and no one seems to put that before the flow of Facebook or Instagram or the latest episode of any of the twenty TV shows they follow with a greater joy than for the Lord, who is Lord of everything; there is no time for prayer, maybe they can squeeze in one sentence during the day or a few words before they go to sleep. We are prioritizing very wrong. And who has the time for devotion and prayer? We have so many distractions in our modern society, and we have gotten used to it. We do not care, we are getting more and more indifferent to God and his Word, just like the church in Laodicea.

It can look like this in our congregations. In one poll in 2020 41% of the professing evangelicals said if a person is generally good or does enough good things they will earn a place in heaven, this view was shared by 77% of the Catholics.[5]

In Protestia the headline reads (2020): “Barna Poll: 40% of Christian Evangelical are Pretty Much a Bunch of Socialist, Pro-Choice Pagans,” they continue to add that they are also biblically illiterate, confused, socialists, sexually progressive weirdo pagans. Let us view what they say (this is American evangelicals).

48% believe that if you are good enough or do well enough you can earn salvation.
44% do not believe that history is God’s reality unfolding.
44% claim the Bible’s teaching about abortion is ambiguous.
43% maintain that Jesus sinned while on earth.
42% seek moral guidance primarily from sources other than the Bible.
42% do not identify or confess their sins on a daily basis.
40% accept lying as morally accepted if it can gain him.
36% prefer socialism to capitalism.
34% reject the idea that marriage is for one man and one woman.
34% argue that abortion is morally acceptable if it spares the mother from financial or emotional discomfort or hardship.[6]

It is truly a bleak read and I do not think this is far from how it looks in every evangelical church in the western world.

Another research from 2021 reveals that the church has completely failed in its teaching of biblical doctrines. 69% view themselves as self-identified Christians, this is their view:

79% of those believe that God has a reason for everything.
77% that they have a unique God-given calling.
74% say that they intentionally try to avoid sinning.
72% claim that every moral choice either honors or dishonors
62% say that the universe was created by God and is sustained by him.
61% believe God to be almighty, omniscient, perfect, and just Creator who still rules the universe today.

All of this seems nearly fine, but the same group has this non-biblical view, something has gone wrong in their education in church.

72% argue that people are basically good.
71% consider feelings, experience, or input from family and friends as their most trusted source or moral guidance.
66% claim that faith itself is more important than which faith you pursue.
64% claim that all religious faiths are of equal value.
58% believe that if you are good enough you can earn your way into heaven.
57% believe in karma.
52% claim that determining moral truth is up to every individual; no moral absolutes do exist.
40% believe that they will go to heaven because they once confessed their sins and accepted Jesus as their savior.
Only 32% believe that premarital sex is unacceptable.
Only 9% of self-identified Christians have a biblical worldview.

When asking self-identified born-again Christians, they still have these daunting opinions:

69% consider feelings, experience, or input from family and friends as their most trusted source or moral guidance.
65% say there is no absolute moral truth.
62% contend that the Holy Spirit is not an actual living being but a symbol of God’s power.
61% say that all religious faiths are of equal value.
60% still believe that if man is good enough, he will end up in heaven.

Here they also state that the widely accepted, biblical definition of born-again is a person who has confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. I say that their definition is wrong, that is clear as day.

The only group that stands out at least slightly is the group that identifies itself as theological born-again Christians.[7]

Another recent study found that only 37% of pastors have a biblical worldview. This study was from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, this nationwide study found that 62% of the pastors held a syncretistic worldview, and only 13% of teaching pastors and 12% of children’s and youth pastors held a biblical worldview. They also found that only 47% of the pastors held a biblical worldview regarding family and the value of life, 44% regarding matters concerning God and creation, and 43% when it comes to matters regarding sin and salvation, and in this manner it continues.[8]

Evangelical Focus is releasing a study from the American Bible Society (ABS), they surveyed 2,598 adults online or by phone in January, they state that there has been “an unprecedented drop in the percentage of Bible users in the United States”.[9] The 2022 data showed a frightening 10% decrease from the same time in 2021. There has also been a decrease in the daily Bible reading from 14% before the pandemic to 10% after. The report also says that scripture engagement is down 21% from 2021.[10]

All these statistics are truly a worrisome read. Something has gone very wrong. The church is definitely not influencing the world, but instead is the world influencing the church and the Christians with its so-called wisdom, and we are now friends with the world, which James says is enmity with God, “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (Jas. 4:4), and Paul warns us to not have anything to do with the world:

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 Cor. 6:14–18).

We are called to be separate, “And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and I have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine” (Lev. 20:26). And we shall not let this world influence us in any way: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:2).

Have we not understood this? Or do we not even care about what God is saying? Are we that indifferent to his everlasting Word? It is so clear, no one that reads the Bible can come to any other conclusion ever. That is not even debatable: we are to be separate, and are not to be conformed to this world, because God is holy, because there can be no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness, or communion between light and darkness, or concord between Christ and Belial.

There can only be one explanation for this: too many so-called Christians are not Christians at all. They might be, if and when God is calling on them with his irresistible grace, but we cannot have these non-Christians influencing the doctrines of the church, or of whom shall be a member, or of anything that is pertaining to God and the church. The church has a mission, and that mission cannot be hindered by unregenerate people. I believe that we need a new view on how to organize our congregations.

I was listening to John MacArthur and he told in this sermon how he did, he started to have a kind of bible school on Saturdays and invited men to attend this, with the hope that some of the men would grow up to be godly God-fearing elders, and he shared that notion that this group had to walk before the congregation, to have a better understanding, more knowledge, to be spiritual fathers to the rest. He could not let them continue at the same amble pace as the congregation, they had to walk before them. I believe this is wise counsel. And we know that Jesus did just that, he chose twelve men to be his disciples and to teach them and to be with them that they should be teachers to others, and spiritual fathers, and have spiritual oversight over the flock. Paul did the same with Timothy and Titus; Titus is left in Crete that he should set in order things in the church and appoint elders in every city as Paul had directed him (Tit. 1:5). There is a biblical way, and the biblical way to govern the inner life of a church, or its doctrines, or its oversight over the flock, is not a democracy.

Notes

[1] Richard D. Phillips, 1 Samuel (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2012), 1 Samuel 19:1–24.

[2] The archbishop is also a woman.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antje_Jackelén.

[3] https://www.dagen.se/debatt/2022/06/17/att-vardera-arkebiskopens-tro-ar-inte-pingsts-vag/.

[4] I took this from John MacArthur and Grace Community Church, https://www.gracechurch.org/about/doctrinal-statement.

[5] https://pulpitandpen.org/2020/08/12/new-barna-poll-the-christian-church-is-seriously-messed-up/.

[6] https://protestia.com/2020/10/08/barna-poll-40-of-christian-evangelicals-are-pretty-much-a-bunch-of-socialist-pro-choice-pagans/.

[7] https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/CRC_AWVI2021_Release06_Digital_01_20210831.pdf.

[8] https://www.christianpost.com/news/only-37-of-pastors-have-a-biblical-worldview-barna.html. The study itself: https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/AWVI2022_Release05_Digital.pdf.

I have referenced the newspaper article.

[9] https://evangelicalfocus.com/life-tech/16856/nearly-26-million-americans-decreased-or-stopped-interacting-with-the-bible.

[10] https://evangelicalfocus.com/life-tech/16856/nearly-26-million-americans-decreased-or-stopped-interacting-with-the-bible.

The Define scripture engagement as: “consistent interaction with the Bible that shapes a person’s choices and transforms their relationships with God, self, and others”.