Does
the Bible Teach Christianity or Wimpianity?
By
Dr. Ken Matto
Joshua 1:9 (KJV) Have not I
commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou
dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
We
live in a day when the world has declared war on Christianity to a greater
extent than in the past. However,
it seems that the hotter the war gets, the more gutless Christians become.
Have Christians bought into the politically correct agenda which is to
keep your opinions to yourself?
Have they bought into the phony love scenarios that the emasculated church
teaches? You know the generic
gospel which teaches one that you are not to offend and that God loves everyone.
At a time in history when Christians need to be strong, they have become
very weak and cowardly. Basically,
I am speaking of Christians in western countries because Christians in countries
like India, Iraq, Viet Nam, China, North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and
other countries like them show a tremendous strength in refusing to deny the
Lord Jesus Christ in lieu of converting to the death culture of Islam, Buddhism,
or Atheism. If the Lord was going
to give rewards to believers, I can guarantee you that He would give them to the
Christians who have remained stedfast in these countries and not to a bunch of
western clergy who make a few statements that sound good or write books.
In
the past Chuck Swindoll announced a new program called “Vision 195” where he
intends to reach every country in the world with the Gospel.
It is a great goal and I hope that it progresses but he should realize
that the Gospel is already in every country in the world by means of the
Internet. The website you are
reading this article on reaches between 170-180 countries every month without a
multi-million dollar investment. If
these media ministries really wanted to reach the world for Christ.
They would give their tapes and materials away for nothing.
They tell us that we are to have much faith in God yet when it comes to
them, they have no faith in God that He would not be able to supply the funds to
undertake the giveaway of the Gospel.
If the world is to be reached for Christ, it will not be done by some
preacher or theologian sitting in an ivory tower selling their materials but it
will have to be done by individual Christians who choose to follow Christ
regardless of what consequences may come.
When
Moses died, Joshua was given the task of leading the people into the Promised
Land. Joshua no doubt saw the great
struggles that Moses had with the people and the fact that they would now have
to do some actual fighting to displace the heathen cultures which were in the
land. God did not tell Joshua
to make a plan to take the land and then carry it out.
Instead, God assured Joshua that He would be with him as He was with
Moses. Joshua was not going into
the land alone but with God to empower him.
In Joshua 1:9, God tells Joshua that he is to be courageous.
The word in the Hebrew is in the Qal stem which in this case makes it a
command. Why would Joshua be able
to be courageous in the face of all those heathens?
It was because God commanded him to be courageous and God would stand
behind him in this endeavor. God
stands behind his commands and will empower each believer to be able to go into
the world and bring the Gospel.
Isaiah 41:10 (KJV) Fear thou
not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen
thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness.
In
Isaiah 41:10, the words “I will strengthen” is the same word “amets” in the
Hebrew and means “to be strong, to strengthen, or be made firm.”
God has numerous promises throughout the Bible where He promises to
strengthen us and be with us. God
will never send us to do a job without giving us the proper armor to perform it.
Every Christian on earth has the responsibility of sending forth the
Gospel to make disciples. Mark
13:10 (KJV) And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
This is being done today and especially in countries where Christianity
is forbidden. Christ has a witness
in every country in this world. The
Christians in these hostile countries are relentless in their effort to get the
Gospel out. Pretty soon China will
have more Christians than Communists.
In May 2018 my website had 132 hits from Viet Nam, 1821 hits from India,
132 hits from Saudi Arabia, and 368 hits from Pakistan.
Now I
would like to get back to the subject at hand and give examples of Christians
who became politically incorrect and made an impact for Christ.
We will never make an impact for Christ if we are allowing ourselves to
be subjugated by governments or by church preached pabulum.
As Christians, God stands behind us also as He gives us the command to go
forth into the world and there is no time greater than present to get the Gospel
out to a needy world before Islam, the culture of death, takes over the majority
of countries and turns them into a caliphate.
These examples are Christians who stood their ground in the face of the
enemy, both spiritual and physical, and made a great impact for Christ.
There
is no such thing in Scripture as a born again “door mat.”
When we became saved, our minds became clear and we now have the ability
to see through all the smoke and mirrors of worldly philosophy.
This is why when a person becomes saved who was previously pro-abortion,
begins to look at the theories they were taught with a biblically clear mind and
then they see they have been sold a bill of goods.
This is why Christians speak up about many issues because what was
clouded by a darkened mind before salvation, is now a mind akin to a clear day
with a blue sky. Since Christians
have been given this great gift of clear thinking, they will tend to bring truth
into every situation they are brought into.
The reason that the world thinks we Christians are only spewing hate is
because their mind is still steeped in darkness and unable to see truth.
Ephesians 4:18 (KJV)
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God
through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Before we are saved, we saw with our eyes and heard with our ears.
After we are saved, we see through our eyes and hear through our ears.
This basically means that before we became saved, we would make
assessments of situations based upon what we saw or what we heard.
After we became saved, we now see through our eyes and hear through our
ears and we now make assessments by engaging our minds.
2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of
a sound mind. However, I must
say that there are many Christians who use their head only as a hat rack and
never engage that sound mind which God has given them.
In other words, they still think like the world.
The clear mind also gives us good insight into the Scriptures and also
allows us to foresee evil so we can avoid the traps.
Proverbs 22:3 (KJV) A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth
himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Unfortunately one of the downfalls of many Christians is that they try to
imitate other Christians instead of just being themselves, the person the Lord
made them to be. I wish at this
time to share some of the volunteered downfalls of Christians which affect all
of us. The reason I use the term
“volunteer” is because there is nothing in the Bible which commands us that we
are to follow anyone who is walking in an ungodly manner and that includes
Christians. Therefore those
Christians who follow false teachers or false ways are doing it voluntarily
which means their ministry is already in the dirt.
2 Corinthians 4:1-2 (KJV)
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we
faint not; {2} But have renounced
the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the
word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves
to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
It
seems that Christianity has become a very weak faith in the world and there has
to be some reason why this has happened.
The same Holy Spirit and the same salvation indwells those of us who are
saved today as in times past.
Moses, Joshua, Martin Luther were all saved with the same salvation which we are
saved today and God has not lost power neither has the Holy Spirit and we read
in Hebrews 13:8: Hebrews 13:8 (KJV)
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
So there is no lack of strength in the Godhead so that means the failure
has taken place within Christianity on the earth.
I use the word “wimp” and that carries with it the meaning of “cowardly,
weak, or ineffectual person.” I
would venture to say without apology that the majority of Christians are very
ineffectual which has caused Christianity to become very feeble.
Churches have become social entertainment centers which no longer
challenge the Christians to remain stedfast and get involved.
Instead, they are nothing but concert halls.
What
are some of the reasons Christians have turned into wimps?
Useless and spiritually emasculated clergy which dress like slobs
Jeremiah 23:1 (KJV) Woe be
unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the
LORD.
There
was a period in history when young people looked up to the local pastor of their
church because they were examples to the flock.
They would always be dressed in suits and would take their calling
seriously. Today, thanks to places
like Hillsong and Saddleback church pastors now look like slobs in dungarees and
t-shirts. The majority of them do
not have a calling on their lives because all one has to do is look at the
condition of the church and you will see that a hireling is running it.
John 10:12-13 (KJV)
But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are
not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf
catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the
sheep. False gospels have
entered into churches and have remained there simply because the pastors are
spiritually emasculated and have no discernment concerning true and false
teachings. The other half of the
sorry coin is that the people in the pews allow it to happen and say nothing
except when someone comes into the congregation with the truth and then the
congregation turns on them like a roaring lion.
One cannot expect Christians to be motivated and encouraged by
spiritually dead pastors and thus leads to a weakened group of Christians in the
pews which has no impact and runs from every opportunity to reach someone with
the gospel or to challenge a false teaching.
Women
Preachers
1
Timothy 2:12 (KJV) But I
suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in
silence.
What
part of this do the Joyce Meyer or Paula White sycophants misunderstand?
When denominations elect women as preachers or bishops, they are in
direct violation of the Scriptures.
They are in essence shaking their fist at God all because the emasculated men in
the congregation fear the women and will not speak up.
You can hardly call them men from the biblical standpoint.
When one joins in a congregation like this, they will never grow because
they are in opposition to God’s commands.
If the men kowtow to the women in church, then they will have no witness
outside the church because of cowering fear.
Phony
Hollywood type love exchanged for true biblical love
1
Peter 4:8 (KJV) And above all
things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the
multitude of sins.
Another major problem is that many Christians have had their definition of love
redefined by the media. The
Hollywood type of love which is portrayed on television or the movies is a false
love. We are told to love the
sodomite, love the enemies of Christianity, accept same sex marriage because
they love each other, etc. We are
to show love to unbelievers for just who they are.
Basically, this is saying that we love them into eternal damnation.
That is not love but it is a form of hatred to allow someone to continue
in their lifestyle without saying something.
The modern Christian has no testimony to these people because there is no
persistence in their personal ministries, if they have any at all.
The world’s method of loving is to love those who love you but the
biblical form of love is called “charity” which means “unconditional love.”
This means being a witness to those who are walking in sin as we did
before were saved. Once Christians
get into the habit of avoiding being a testimony, it grows into a lifestyle and
then they completely lose their testimony of being a Christian.
If one continually avoids any testimony, they really need to check if
they are truly saved. Zero
Christian testimony out in the marketplace means that the false gospels and the
aberrant lifestyles will gain ground and become stronger every single day.
If you want to partake of true biblical love, then retake your ministry
and get the gospel out wherever you go.
Fear
Psalm
118:6 (KJV) The LORD is on my
side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
Matthew 10:28 (KJV) And fear
not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear
him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28 answers the question on fear for a Christian.
We fear man more than we fear God.
Man can only kill the body but God can destroy both body and soul in
hell. This is why fear must never
overrule the Christian’s responsibility of getting the gospel out to the world.
Fearing man is also their doom since they will not be hearing the gospel
from you. You are placed in a
strategic place by God whether it be a job or stay at home mom but wherever you
have been placed, unsaved souls will be plentiful and that is your mission
field. If you fear to take up the
challenge, then you have failed in your Christian reason of existence.
You were kept here by God after salvation for the purpose of reaching the
other Elect in the world and since we do not know who they are, we must be a
witness to everyone we meet. Fear
makes the biggest wimps and allows the religious bullies to conquer you when it
should be the other way around.
Afraid to offend
Galatians 5:11 (KJV) And I,
brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is
the offence of the cross ceased.
When
will Christians get it through their heads that the true gospel is an offence.
It basically tells a person you need saving, your life is going in the
wrong direction, you need to turn around, you are headed for eternal damnation,
all your works add up to nothing, everything you will do will be judged on the
last day, etc. Christians need to
realize that the true gospel goes against everything the world teaches.
Christians need to expect to be rebuffed and rejected and when we are we
do not run and hide in our rooms but we get back out there knowing that we will
be rejected by the majority of people.
John 15:18 (KJV)
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Too many churches teach that Christianity is just a sweet faith which
should not bother anyone. The
reality is that it affects the mind and demeanor of many who are given the
gospel. Christians must prepare for
the fact they will face opposition and that opposition could be words as well as
physical attack. The Apostle Paul
faced all kinds of persecution because he was bringing the gospel to the Jews
and to the Gentiles who were steeped in false religions.
Eternal concerns diverted to worldly concerns
1
John 2:17 (KJV) And the world
passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth
for ever.
If
you listen, too many of the media preachers are taking the gospel and diverting
the true focus from eternal issues to worldly pursuits.
It seems everything has come down to feelings and healings.
The media preachers want you to make them rich so they continue to
re-define the Scriptures so that you send them money and then they convince you
that you have fulfilled your obligation to God.
Not only are many of the media preachers fearful to preach the true
gospel but so are many local clergy who do not want to offend the good givers in
the church so they bring a false gospel of love and worldly concerns such as
save the whales or climate control or something else which refocuses the
Christians from eternal things to worldly things.
The reality is that we were saved and God chose to keep us in this world
for the purpose of sending forth the Gospel locally and reaching out to the
world with that gospel and to help train the next generation.
We were not saved to save whales or concern ourselves that the
temperature became hot in the middle of summer.
Our responsibility in this world is to proclaim the realty of the next
world and we will need to go against the latest social fad or challenge and
stress the need of people looking beyond into the eternal horizon.
The Lord is in total control of this world and man’s intervention has
only ruined it.
Psalm 24:1 (KJV)
The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they
that dwell therein. Since the
Lord owns it all He is more than capable of taking care of it until the last day
when He will burn up the present world and remake it anew.
False
Bible Versions remove power from a Christian’s ministry
Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) For the
word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The
Scripture above states that the word of God is quick, powerful, and sharper than
a twoedged sword. The modern
versions have omitted many verses, phrases, and clauses and have reversed many
of the passages to state an opposite meaning.
These modern versions continue to dull that twoedged sword and as a
result the ministry of Christians become much weaker to the point they give up
on ministry. When I literally threw
my New American Standard Bible in the trash while singing “To God be the Glory”
I noticed a fresh boldness and power in my ministry by using the King James
Bible. Many of the modern versions
were worked on by sodomites and unbelievers making them counterfeits.
In fact, the Sinaiticus manuscript which is one of the main manuscripts
that undergirds the modern versions has now been proven to be a total 19th
century counterfeit. It is referred
to in the modern versions as “oldest and best manuscripts” which is a total lie
that has been fostered on the non-thinking Christian population by seminaries
and publishers. If you use a modern
version of the Bible then your ministry will be very weak and that includes the
fact that you will begin to drift and eventually you will be believing and
teaching false doctrine. The modern
versions are of Satan and that is the undeniable fact.
If you look to Satan for your biblical understanding and spiritual
strength, you will be disappointed and you will be a failure like so many
Christians today. I call them the
“paperback NIV crowd” because there is no strength or testimony in them and that
is why they run in fear from a challenge.
If the attack on God’s Holy Word does not move you to action then you
obviously are a bona-fide Wimp!
Obsession with Israel
Isaiah 42:8 (KJV) I am the
LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my
praise to graven images.
Since
1948 when Israel became a nation and the United States became its boot-licking
slave, our prosperity has gone down, we have never won a war, we are plagued by
internal strife by those who want to destroy it from within, our cities have
turned to garbage dumps, we have become useful idiots for the New World Order,
we have partaken in endless serial wars for Israel but one of the most sorry
aspects of Israel worship is, it is being done in the majority of churches.
The modern nation of Israel is not the same nation as the ancient nation
of Israel. All one has to do is
read the Old Testament and you will see how rebellious Israel was against God
and eventually God destroyed the last tribe in 70 A.D.
The modern nation of Israel was founded by the Rothschilds and Nazi
Germany had a big part in the formation of Israel.
It was also helped greatly by the United Nations.
When ancient Israel was formed, it was a family lineage and not a
political entity until they came out of Egypt and wandered for 40 years and then
in 1407 B.C. they entered the land under Joshua.
However, they were barely across the river before they started rebelling
against God.
The
modern Christian sees the name “Israel” and right away they make a quick
association with the ancient nation.
This is because Christians do not study anything and choose to read
prophecy books which only spew false teachings on every page.
Jerry
Falwell taught that God was kind to America because America was kind to Israel
and when he died his college was $64 million in debt.
Some kindness huh? Where was
Israel from 1620 to 1947? Why was
God kind to America during these years?
It was because in the Mayflower Compact signed by the Pilgrims in 1620
that their desire was to advance the Christian Faith and that is why God blessed
the USA but in 1948 something happened to the prosperity level of the USA and it
has gone down ever since we have become blind sycophants of Israel, our country
has degenerated. One only has to
look at the city of Hiroshima and compare it to Detroit and one will see the
decay.
This
is why our churches have decayed drastically since 1948.
When Israel became more popular in the churches than the Lord Jesus
Christ, the church degenerated and as long as it continues to teach all these
fantasy stories about modern Israel, the church will continue to deteriorate.
The churches used to be bastions of truth but now try to find one that
teaches the truth. Either you will
attend one that speaks gibberish, which they call tongues, or you will attend
one which talks about Israel every week. Teachings
about the Lord Jesus Christ now take second place in the majority of churches.
If you think I am kidding, sponsor two special events: One on the life of
Christ and one on Israel in prophecy and see which one fills up first.
Modern Israel rejects the Old Testament and is a follower of the Talmud.
Modern Israel is the world’s biggest promoters of sodomy!
Holy land Huh? Churches need
to rid themselves of all these false teachings about the modern nation of Israel
and get back to teaching only the Bible because when the Bible was taught
instead of fantasy we had strong churches which were the conscience of this
nation, and those strong churches produced strong Christians who were up to the
challenge. How many of you would
want to go to spiritual war with the spiritual level of today’s Christian?
When will Christians realize that the
Bible was written about the Lord Jesus Christ and not the modern nation of
Israel?
Psalm
40:7 (KJV) Then said I, Lo, I
come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
Hebrews 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.
Unholy alliances
2
Corinthians 6:14 (KJV) Be ye
not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
I am
writing this in July 2018 and last month was “Gay Pride Month” and many of their
pervert parades were shown on TV and one of the sorriest sights was that many
churches were walking in the parade giving approval to the lifestyles of the
sodomites. We know they were
churches because they were holding up big signs.
Isaiah 3:9 (KJV)
The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare
their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have
rewarded evil unto themselves.
This is the testimony of most churches which have made unholy alliances.
The pro-life movement has brought together both true and false churches
as they fight abortion. Many
Protestant churches are holding hands with Roman Catholics and everyone thinks
it is fine except the Bible does not condone such things but rather condemns it
as we read in 2 Corinthians 6:14 above.
If the church was strong in the 20th century like it was in the 19th
century, abortion would not have been legalized in fear of the pulpit exposing
anyone who favored it. Churches
today make alliances with charismatic churches, emergent churches and their
Roman Catholic Mysticism, Roman Catholicism in believing it is just another
denomination, et al. As long as the
church keeps holding hands with Satan and his people, they will continue to
degenerate and the Christians who attend these churches will become weaker and
weaker because they will have been receiving their spiritual lessons from Satan.
Unholy alliances are never beneficial for the Christian only detrimental.
It is better to be on the outside obeying God than being with the crowd
obeying Satan.
I’ll
pray about it!
1
Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV) Pray
without ceasing.
The
Bible commands us to pray concerning every aspect of our life.
We seek the Lord’s guidance on what home to buy, where to live, what
church we should attend, should we invest in something, what job should I take
and many other decisions which have to be made.
This is why we are to pray without ceasing because each day brings
multiple challenges which must be faced and we seek the Lord’s guidance even if
the situation we face is not life threatening or changing.
However, prayer has also been used as an excuse not to get involved and
what I mean by that is have you ever asked someone to do ministry with you and
they responded with “I’ll have to pray about it” and you never hear from them
again? The Bible teaches that we
are to be involved in ministry so it is not a question to pray “if” we should
but “how” we should. I knew of a
local ministry years ago that when you brought something of a ministry nature
their response was “we’ll have to pray about it.”
Yet, that same ministry would open its doors for jam sessions and they
would have 20 people there without hesitation.
I wonder if they prayed about it?
When Christians consistently use the “I’ll pray about it” excuse it
eventually becomes a bad habit and eventually they will never be approached
again and their life will become useless for the Kingdom of God.
Now it is true that we cannot become involved in every ministry but we
are to be involved in some ministry.
One of the easiest ministries anyone in any town or city can do is a
tract passing ministry. I have
driven through cities like New York City and Philadelphia and very rarely do I
see anyone out there passing out tracts or doing any kind of ministry.
You can park yourself on 42nd St. in New York City and pass
out 10,000 tracts a day and never give one to the same person twice.
There are many foreign visitors to cities like New York and Philadelphia
so you might be giving a tract to someone from a foreign country who might take
it back with them and translate it into their language and then have them
printed up. So you never know how
far your ministry will extend.
Right after World War 2 General MacArthur told the churches in America to get
their missionaries over to Japan.
The Japanese looked at Emperor Hirohito as half god and half man.
Since the Christian God defeated their half god, MacArthur knew what an
impact Christianity would have on post-war Japan.
So what happened? The cults sent
their missionaries over there while the church here held meetings.
They ruined a golden opportunity by their slothfulness and as a result
Japan is about 2% Christian.
So avoid the excuse of “I’ll pray about it” especially when God commands it in
the Bible.
Mark 16:15 (KJV)
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature. Again, we don’t
pray should we, we pray how we should!
Compromise rather than Contending
Jude
3 (KJV) Beloved, when I gave
all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me
to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith
which was once delivered unto the saints.
In this verse we have the crucial reason as to why Jude is in the Bible. First,
Jude writes to these Christians concerning the common salvation. The word
“common” does not in any way imply the belief of a universal salvation program
to every person. Instead it speaks of the universality of God’s salvation
program to His Elect. The word “common” carries with it the meaning of
“communal” but it also carries with it the meaning of “unclean,” so the usage of
the word is defined by the context of the sentence. Our usage in this verse
speaks of the common or communal salvation that all true Christians share around
the world. Once a month, in church, we partake in “communion.”
In the balance of the verse there are two main teachings which are important to
all Christians. The first teaching is that we “should earnestly contend for the
faith.” “Should earnestly contend” is one word in the Greek text. It is
“epagonizomai” which carries with it the meaning of “fight or struggle.” A
cognate of this word is “agonizomai” which is used in Paul’s Epistles in 1
Corinthians 9:25. (1 Cor 9:25 KJV) And every man that striveth for the
mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown; but we an incorruptible. It is the word “striveth” which is also in
the present tense. The Bible is teaching that we are to struggle as in a
contest. One enters a contest to win but if they don’t, then, at least, to make
a good effort. This is what the Christian is to do, we are to enter the defense
and propagation of the Gospel with the intensity that someone enters a mere
earthly contest with. When one looks at an athlete, they see a person in good
shape but what we do not really see is the struggles and battles that athlete
had to endure behind the scenes just to get to the point of competition. How
does a Christian earnestly contend for the faith in our day and age? There are
two basic ways:
1. We contend according to and with the Scriptures. A Christian can never be a
contender for the faith without having their Bible or knowing their Bible. All
the incontrovertible evidence of Christianity is in Scripture. If we try to
defend the faith apart from the Bible, we are relying upon our physical
intellect to do a spiritual battle. This is why many Christians lose their
battles because we are drawn into a war of wits instead of sticking to the
manuscript.
2. We maintain and hold to all the principles and teachings found in Scripture,
even in the face of opposition. This was the underlying strength of the martyrs
of the early and medieval church when they tenaciously held to the Scriptures as
their only authority. This is why Rome feared the word of God then and fears it
now because it exposes their heresy and false dogmas. Once we move away from the
Scriptures, we will amalgamate worldly teachings and then actions according to
these will follow.
Anytime a Christian goes into league with a false religion or cult, it always
winds up that the Christian makes compromises.
When Protestants go in league with Roman Catholics, it is the Protestants
that always make compromises.
Today’s Protestants print Bibles and now they are placing the Apocrypha in them.
Have you see any Roman Catholic Bibles which have only 66 books in them?
No and you never will! A
compromising Christian is a weakened Christian.
This is why compromise is so dangerous.
Compromising does not win souls, it dams them to eternal Hell.
So if you compromise you are helping a person go to hell with confidence.
In the next section of this article I want to point out some Christians from the
past and present who did not make any compromises with the devil and his people.
You will see that some of these Christians would rather make the ultimate
sacrifice than compromise the truth.
Courageous Christians in the Bible
Micaiah
2
Chronicles 18:7 (KJV) And the
king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may
inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but
always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not
the king say so.
Micaiah was a true prophet of God and stood out from the four hundred false
prophets that King Ahab surrounded himself with.
They were going to attack Ramoth-Gilead because it was in the hands of
the Syrians so Ahab asked the four hundred prophets if he will have success in
reclaiming that area. The four
hundred agreed with the king because they were his toadies.
King Jehoshaphat must have known these four hundred prophets were lackeys
because he requested a true prophet of God.
2 Chronicles 18:6 (KJV)
But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides,
that we might inquire of him?
Then Ahab states that there was and his name was Micaiah but he hated him
because he told Ahab the truth instead of what he wanted to hear.
Micaiah told Ahab the truth no matter what it cost him and this is what
is needed by modern Christianity.
The truth must be told regardless of the consequences.
Micaiah was a true prophet because he told exactly what the Lord wanted
him to say and he was proven correct above the four hundred false prophets.
We must do likewise and tell the truth no matter how many stand against
us!
Joshua
And
Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Exodus 17:13 (KJV)
Joshua took up the mantle as commanding General of the Israelite army to remove
the false religions and the heathens from the land which God promised to Israel.
This should also be the job of the pastor in that he removes all the
false doctrines from his congregation and if there are those who insist on
keeping to false doctrine, then they must be like Joshua who removed the heathen
nations from Canaan, and remove these spiritual parasites from the congregation
to keep it as pure as possible.
Apostle Paul
Acts
17:2 (KJV) And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath
days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
After
the Apostle Paul became saved, he continued to reason with the Jews about the
Lord Jesus Christ. He went right
into the synagogues and taught Christianity.
He did not shrink back but gave them the whole gospel no matter who was
offended and it cost him much because he was consistently pursued wherever he
went.
Stephen
Acts
7:43 (KJV) Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god
Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond
Babylon.
Stephen challenged the religious establishment and told them that they were
wrong and should repent of their ways and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
His boldness to bring the truth to the false religious leaders cost him
his life.
Acts
7:58-60 (KJV) And cast him out of the
city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's
feet, whose name was Saul. {59} And
they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit. {60} And he kneeled down,
and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he
had said this, he fell asleep.
Peter
Acts
5:29 (KJV) Then Peter and the
other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
When
Peter became saved and began to preach the true gospel in Jerusalem many were
becoming saved and this brought fear to the religious leaders who had Peter
arrested and brought before them.
They strictly warned Peter and the other apostles to stop preaching the gospel.
Peter and the other apostles refused to obey their edict because they
were to obey God instead of men.
This is what is needed today that Christians pay no attention to the false
religionists whether in their churches or outside that they must obey God rather
than men and must bring the truth even if it costs them their membership in
churches or many friendships which sometimes it does.
Christians today must stop fearing the religious establishment and preach
the truth whether they like it or not.
Nathan
2
Samuel 12:7 (KJV) And Nathan
said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed
thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
Nathan was a prophet of God who was commissioned by God to confront King David
about his sin with Bathsheba which cost the life of her husband Uriah.
In ancient times when anyone challenged or accused or even rightly
pointed out a sin in a king, they were subject to the king’s wrath and could
face torture and death. Here Nathan
boldly confronts David about his sinful actions.
In America the church used to be the conscience of Congress but as soon
as the Johnson Amendment was passed in 1954 which shackled the churches with
loss of tax exemption, the churches became quiet and elected officials went out
of control and that is why America is in the sad state it is in right now only
to become worse. The problem was
that the churches cared more about tax deductible receipts than they did the
preservation of their own country and allowed the same corrupted politicians to
be re-elected for 10-20 terms. The
churches needed to become like Nathan and confront the government officials and
expose their evils so they would be indicted or at least embarrassed over their
actions and not run for another term.
Naboth
1
Kings 21:3 (KJV) And Naboth
said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my
fathers unto thee.
Naboth owned a vineyard which was next to the palace of the king.
The king which was in power was Ahab.
He looked at Naboth’s vineyard and liked what he saw and wanted to buy
the vineyard from Naboth. He even
offered him a vineyard or he would pay him in money.
Naboth obeyed the Levitical law of inheritance that it was never to be
sold.
Leviticus 25:23 (KJV)
The land shall not be sold for ever:
for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
Naboth stood firm on the command of God in the law and rejected King
Ahab’s offers. This rejection
caused Ahab to mope and like a good spoiled brat he laid on his bed and would
not even eat. Then Jezebel
realizing what happened, told him that she would get the vineyard for him.
I am sure she insulted him as she asked him, “dost thou now govern the
kingdom of Israel?” She was
attacking him as king. She was the
daughter of Ethbaal II who was a Phoenician king so she was used to getting her
way. So she made a banquet and
invited Naboth and in that banquet she had two men of Satan falsely accuse
Naboth of blaspheming God so they took him out and stoned him.
Naboth’s refusal to disobey God had cost him his life.
In this world obedience to God will cost something but it is worth it
all.
Courageous Christians after the completion of the Bible
Blandina
Martyred 177 AD
Blandina was martyred in Lyons, France under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
She faced many brutal tortures including being roasted in a metal seat,
scourging, and being suspended on pole.
Even after suffering these tortures she still encouraged the other
Christians who were facing martyrdom with her.
Blandina suffered because she would not give her allegiance to Rome but
stayed upon Christ and suffered terrible tortures and finally martyrdom.
She was about 15 years old.
John
Huss
John
Huss lived in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
He was initially ordained a priest because he wanted the good life and
respect. He eventually began to
read the Bible and the writings of John Wycliffe began to stir his interest in
the Bible. Huss became a very
intense Bible student and started to see that the teachings of Roman Catholicism
were wrong. He advocated that by
disobeying an erring pope was to obey Christ and that Christ was the head of the
church and not the pope. In
November 1414 he was arrested and subsequently brought before his accusers to
recant his positions. He rejected
their commands and committed the situation into the hands of Christ.
He was martyred on July 6, 1415.
Huss went against the religious rulers of the day and he stayed on Christ
and refused to be threatened and it cost him his earthly life.
It was just like the situation that Stephen faced.
William Tyndale
William Tyndale was an Oxford graduate.
The Roman Catholic Church had forbidden any other than priests from
reading the Bible and the Bible was written only in Latin.
Tyndale determined that he was going to translate the Bible in to English
so every person in England could read it in their own language.
Tyndale was eventually betrayed by a friend, Henry Phillips, and was
tried for heresy in 1536. He was
martyred by strangling and burning on October 6, 1536.
Tyndale went against the Roman Catholic Church and also Henry VIII in
opposing his divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
Both Henry VIII and the Roman Catholics wanted him dead.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther left Law school at Erfurt and joined the Augustinian Order and was
finally ordained a Catholic Priest.
In 1508 he went to join the faculty of the University of Wittenberg.
Luther had opposed the sales of indulgences which Bishop Tetzel was
selling to raise money for the building of St. Peter’s church in Rome.
On October 31, 1517 he nailed his famous 95 Theses to the door of the
Castle church in Wittenberg. He had
no idea that this document would be the most widely read document in history.
Since the 95 Theses was against the workings of the Roman Catholic
Church, it began a series of events leading to his excommunication and him being
declared an outlaw which means that anyone could seize and kill him without any
threat of penalty of law. He
published many articles and books including a German Bible which allowed the
people of Germany to read. He died
of natural causes on February 18, 1546 at the age of 62.
His stand against Catholicism literally brought about the beginning of
Western Civilization and the end of much superstition which was taught by the
Roman Catholic Church. He did not
know what was in store for him as he knew that his opposition to the pope could
have led to his martyrdom yet he saw the wrongs and wanted to see them
corrected. He destroyed the Roman
Catholic teaching of works for salvation and taught the Bible’s way of salvation
which was Grace.
Thomas Drowry
Thomas Drowry suffered imprisonment in Gloucester for confessing the truth.
He denied the heresy of transubstantiation.
He held to the truth of Jesus Christ and was martyred on May 15, 1556.
Even though he was physically blind, he had spiritual sight beyond the
Catholics who examined him. He
would not betray his Lord instead he went to live with him when his physical
body expired.
John
Knox
John
Knox was known as a great Scottish reformer.
He had a desire to reform the Scottish church.
Knox was ordained a Catholic Priest in 1536.
He compared the pope to the Antichrist, he rejected the mass, purgatory
and prayers for the dead. He was
made a galley slave for a while and refused to kiss a picture of Mary, instead
he threw it into the ocean and said “let our lady now save herself, she is light
enough, let her learn to swim.” He
died of natural causes on 11/24/1572 and at his grave was a testimony given
“Here lies one who never feared any flesh.”
John Knox boldly decried teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and he
did without any fear of reprisal from others.
John
Bunyan
John
Bunyan was converted to the teachings from the Reformation and was a preacher of
the gospel where he preached in the church and surrounding areas.
In 1660, he was arrested under the Conventicle Act of 1593 which made it
illegal to have religious services outside of the church.
He was initially sentenced to 3 months
in prison but refused to give up preaching and his prison sentence was extended
to 12 years. While he was in prison
he wrote “Grace Abounding” and began his most famous work “Pilgrim’s Progress.”
In 1676-77 he was again put into prison for 6 months for refusing to
attend a parish church. He died of
natural causes on 8/31/1688. Bunyan
also did not fear the government or the ecclesiastical hierarchy because his
desire was to preach the gospel which he refused to stop doing.
Courageous Christians of Modern Times
Ed McCulley, Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youderian
These were the five missionaries who were martyred by the Auca Indians in
Ecuador on January 8, 1956. They
had decided they would try to reach the Auca Indians who were considered to be
some of the roughest in Ecuador.
They were making inroads into the lives of the Aucas but something happened
which caused them to attack. They
thought the Auca men would be attending a church service the missionaries had
planned but they did not show up and that night they were all martyred.
It was Jim Elliot who penned the famous truth,
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
Wang Zhiming
Wang Zhiming was a pastor in Wudding County, Yunnan.
He worked among many of the smaller groups in China and saw much fruit,
that is, people who were saved.
When the cultural revolution happened in China, he was declared a counter
revolutionary. In 1969 Zhiming was
arrested along with his wife and sons.
On 12/29/1973 he was executed in a stadium in front of 10,000 people
which were made up of mostly Christians.
This execution did not frighten the people but emboldened them.
Janani Luwum
He was born in 1922 and became a Christian in 1948.
In 1969 he was made Archbishop of the Church of England in Northern
Uganda.
Idi
Amin had come into power in the 1970s and was well-known for his cruelty,
treachery, and brutality. In his 8-year rule, over 300,000 Ugandans were
massacred, among them was Archbishop Janani Luwum on 2/17/1977.
When the casket containing his body was opened, the level of atrocity
committed upon him was undeniable. His courage in speaking out against a corrupt
and evil regime and his faith had encouraged his people. His faithfulness in the
face of death had a powerful impact on the people of Uganda, and many who had
forsaken Christianity returned to the faith, encouraged by the memory of
Archbishop Luwum and others who had been martyred for their own faith.
Paul Schneider
He was the pastor of the Hochelheim congregation.
In both writing and preaching he denounced the Nazi regime in Germany.
He became a member of the Confessing Church which opposed Hitler and his
government. He was arrested in 1935
but continued to speak out against the Nazis.
In 1937 with the permission of his presbytery he started excommunicating
members of his church who held allegiance to the Nazi party.
He was again arrested on 10/3/37 and 11/27/37 was sent to the Buchenwald
concentration camp. In June of 1938
he continually refused to leave his congregation and if he did he could have
been released. He would not abandon
them and on July 18, 1939 he was murdered by lethal injection in the infirmary
at Buchenwald.
Esther John
She was born Qamar Zia into an Islamic Family on 12/14/29.
She became a Christian in 1946 by reading and studying the book of
Isaiah. Her and her family moved to
the newly formed Pakistan from British India in 1947 where she continued to
study the Bible in secret. In 1954
she ran away from home fearing she would be forced into an arranged marriage.
From
1956 to 1959, she trained to be a teacher at the United Bible Training Centre
in Gujranwala, then spent the remainder of her life evangelizing in the
villages around Chichawatni. On
February 2, 1960 Esther John was found murdered in her bed. There is a statue
erected to her memory in Westminster Abbey in the row of 20th century
martyrs.
So then what is the difference between you and these Christians named above?
It can be summed up in one word and that is COMMITMENT.
The western Christian of today is no longer committed to the gospel but
has changed allegiances to worldly pursuits.
If most Christians were dedicated to the sending forth of the gospel and
the contending for the faith as false religions do, then there would not be so
many threats to the true gospel. I
am not only speaking about physical threats but the liberal threats which come
from false teachers like Rick Warren or Joel Osteen or false satanic churches
like Hillsong. The true gospel
would overtake the false if it was staunchly defended and taught.
Are you a Matthew 23 Christian? The
23 Christians I have given above were all Matthew 23 Christians because they
defied the religious and political establishments to bring forth the Gospel in
perilous places. They did not
concern themselves with their own lives but their desire was to send forth the
Gospel and see others become saved.
Many times the gospel goes forth in peace but it also goes forth much farther
when faced with opposition. Not
only did these people oppose the religious and political establishments in
obedience to God, they did something to enforce that opposition.
We tend to forget that the same lowly and peaceful Jesus that walked the
dusty roads of Judah is the same one who went into the temple and turned over
the tables of the moneychangers.
Matthew 21:12 (KJV)
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold
and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the
seats of them that sold doves,
Jesus took action when he saw that the temple which was supposed to be a house
of prayer had evolved into a place of commerce and deceptive commerce at that.
Jesus was not about to let that go and this action was placed in the Bible for
us to learn from that we should be angered when we see things like the church
turning into a place of business.
The church I grew up in, the Hungarian Reformed Church in Perth Amboy, NJ, now
has bingo. As Christians sometimes
our actions may not seem right to the world but if they are done with proper
biblical standards then who cares what the world thinks.
Some years ago when I went food shopping at the local supermarket, the
Worldwide Church of God, which was Armstrong’s people placed multiple copies of
their magazine “The Plain Truth” in a magazine rack by the front door so a
person could grab a copy on the way out.
Whenever I saw them, I would pick up every single issue and take them
with me and throw them in the garbage.
So what is your verdict on your Christian walk?
Are you going to do nothing for the gospel or are you going to reach out
and walk with God into the world to see others come into the kingdom?
What have you done so far?
Does your Christian walk add up to those 23 I listed above or is it lacking
focus? It is never too late to put
the world behind you and get involved with some aspect of ministry because the
days are going by and none of us are getting any younger.
Do you want to bring nothing to Heaven with you or do you want to present
a life of commitment to the Lord before Him?
Revelation 14:13 (KJV) And I
heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die
in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from
their labours; and their works do follow them.
If this verse was read at your funeral, would those who attend have trouble
wondering what works followed you or could they identify them immediately?
I think you get the point now.
It is high time Christians stop living a useless life for the kingdom of
God and do not use the excuse that you don’t have a ministry because even if you
do not know what your ministry is at this point, you can still hand out tracts!
Proverbs 18:9 (KJV) He also
that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
Have you wasted or used the time the Lord gave you? I can’t answer that, only you can! So from what you have read and the examples I gave does the Bible teach Christianity or Wimpianity?