Bible's or men's

I have had the privilege of recently reading John MacArthur’s book on Charismatic movement aptly titled ‘Strange Fire’. This is a must- read for all Christians who care for biblical Christianity which has been seriously diluted by the charismatic movement.

On the other hand, I have found myself asking: Apart from the Charismatic movement which practices many things that are hardly found in the Bible, are there any other denominations that claim Christianity but are actual wolves in sheep’s clothing?  I answer, myriad.

 If you are inclined to think that this claim is questionable, far-fetched or dubious then I believe that the evidence that follows will remove such doubts, that is, if you only believe in the truth of the Bible and treasure it.

Evidence 1.

On the issue of purgatory, some believe that when one dies, he cools himself in purgatory indefinitely before he can be promoted to glory. Meanwhile, the amount of prayers offered for his soul and gifts (including money) given to the church on his behalf, can reduce the period of stay in purgatory. The extra work merits from the ‘saints’ can also be claimed for the dead in order to increase his righteousness thus becoming fit to enter heaven. This doctrine was established in the year 1439 by a council of Florence. It is purely an invention of the said council of men which when zoomed in, has no biblical support. As one promptly said: ‘No! There are no detours on the way to heaven.’ Church history teaches that this is one of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic that brought revolt from their own men like Luther who could see the ungodly scheme behind the doctrine of purgatory, hence the birth of Protestantism.

What the Bible says:

No one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day (No purgatory status is mentioned) - John 6:44. How about the thief on the cross that Jesus took with Him to glory? It was not a promise of ‘after purgatory, you will be with me in heaven.’ But it was ‘TODAY you will be with me’. How about the story of the rich man and Lazarus? When both died, according to Christ, they met their lot immediately. Heb 9:27 says that death comes once then judgment follows. Jose Rice, once a priest in the Roman Catholic church but has since come out of it (and there have been many like him since reformation period) wonders: ‘If Christ purges our sins, how is it that souls that are saved now have to go to purgatory to be purified? What kind of purgatory do the Catholics have that is not once mentioned in the Bible?’ In other words, if the doctrine of purgatory is true, then Christ’s work on the cross is null and void-hopeless. Moreover, the doctrine is foreign to the Bible.

Evidence 2.

Some denominations without blinking an eye teach that baptism has the power to save one from sin (Baptismal regeneration).

What the Bible says.

The Bible teaches that baptism comes after repentance of one’s sin after hearing of the Good News and repenting. Hence baptism is a symbol of repentance and washing away of sins. Matt. 3:11, 28:18-20 and Acts 2:38 among myriads of Scripture references.

Evidence 3.

Some teach that justification is not only received through Christ’s merits alone but also by works and observances of ordinances. Purportedly, such actions have the power to forgive sin alongside works of Christ. The church in Galatia suffered similar heresy that taught that Christ alone is not enough to save. Apostle Paul strongly opposed such doctrines of salvation by Christ plus works.

What the Bible says.

The Bible clearly teaches that salvation or justification is by faith in Christ alone. His righteousness imputed to sinners is enough to do the work in a sinner who will repent. The entire book of Galatians teaches this and I advise any sympathizer to salvation through Christ plus works to faithfully take time and read through Galatians alongside Rom 3:23-25, Eph 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5 among other Scriptures which teach the same.

Evidence 4.

Some denominations put their own traditions at par with the authority of Scripture. Declarations of mortal men (the bishops and what have you) are equally binding to their followers or even superior to the Bible. The council of men at Trent, the second Vatican council made a resolution to the effect that: ‘The church does not draw her certainty about all revealed truth from the Holy Scriptures alone.’ (Vatican 11, constitution on Divine Revelation paragraph 9). The Bible therefore by itself cannot hold sway as the only rule of faith in as far as the Roman Catholic church is concerned.

What the Bible says.

The Bible is sufficient to instruct us on all Doctrines and Christian life. On traditions Christ himself condemned such traditions of men added to our faith. 2Tim 3:16, Mark 7:9, Acts 1:16, Heb 3:7, 2Pet 1:21 etc.

Evidence 5.

Some prohibit their priests from marrying and they are made to take a vow to this effect.

The Bible says:

In 1Tim 4:1-5 one might be excused to think that Apostle Paul was prophesying about the coming of our current churches that will impose celibacy on men. Paul warns Timothy of some people who will abandon faith to follow deceiving spirits and demons’ doctrines. Such will teach that people should not marry and also to abstain from some foods (v4). If you did not know, some denominations go ahead and also prohibit their followers from eating certain foods. In Gen 2:18, God Himself said that it is not good for a man to be alone.

Evidence 6.

Some denominations challenge saint hood and priest hood of all believers but instead teach that some special men trained by them and ordained by them have the capacity to climb the ranks to priesthood. These men have the power to absolve sins. On the other hand saint hood is a preserve of some special and dead men and women whose good works while on earth were exemplary.

What the Bible says.

These churches would do well to study the entire book of Hebrews on priesthood of Christ. In Heb 9:26 Christ alone is identified as our chief priest. He suffered once for all (not many times). Cf Heb.1:3, 7: 25-27, 10: 17-18.  It is Christ alone who forgives our sins John 4:13-15.To claim that one has the power to forgive sins after Christ Jesus is blasphemy and the greatest heresy. One candidly commented on the practice of confession to priests by saying that: ‘Confession to priest is just like the water of Jacob’s well, whoever drinks of it will thirst again.’ A former Roman Catholic priest now converted to Christianity, Mr. Dario Santamaria goes ahead and confirms worse things on confession to man by saying that during their training as priests, they would be made at times to confess their sins to classmates and their superiors. Often, they would be made to lie in the door way and a priest would walk over their prostrate bodies-an act I equate to Nazism.

 In 1Pet 2:5. Revelation 5:9-10 and Heb 13: 15 the Bible gives believers the title of priest in their own right. Rom 1:1-7, 1Cor. 1:1-3, 2Cor 1: 1-2, Eph 1:1-2 etc. One does not have to confer that title to a Christian, once you believe you are a saint and a priest in your own right.

Evidence 7.

Some denominations chant to their ‘idols’ just like other idolaters do. Endless prayers are offered to several images fashioned by them.

What the Bible says.

In Matt. 6:7, Christ urges His followers not to use vain repetition in their prayers like the heathens do but instead go in to the closet and pray. The Lord, in this, points us to the character of idolatrous prayers of which such churches fall in.

Evidence 8.

Some churches believe in fellow human beings to save them and intercede for them in prayer. For example, the Roman Catholic Church believes that Mary the mother of Jesus is a better redeemer than the Son Himself. In this, Mary is like a goddess just like the heathen Roman Empire also claimed of some of their female goddesses as their redeemer.

What the Bible says.

In Acts 4:12, Apostle Peter himself, the one that the Roman Catholic uphold as the very first pope of the system denounces any doctrine that claims that salvation can be found in any other person apart from Christ. In this he head on contradicts Mariology. Cf 1Tim 2: 5-6. Matt 1:21.Mary, like any other fallen man needed a Savior for her own sins. She cannot save any body leave alone herself, but the Son can save even Mary.

Evidence 9.

Some churches believe in following the authority of men perceived to be infallible in the history of their church. For example, RC insists that Peter is the ‘rock’ on which Jesus promised that His church will be built on. All popes, since they follow in the footsteps of Peter,therefore remain as infallible as Peter was.

What the Bible says.

The Holy Bible teaches clearly that all men are sinners and therefore fallible and need a Savior. To say that a human being is sinless is a total lie: 1John 1:8-10. Did Peter sin? Yes! Who does not know that he denied Christ three times at the hour of need? Another error of his is recorded in Gal 2: 11-14.It is amazing that RC puts so much trust on men (Peter and Mary) than Jesus Christ Himself! Popes themselves are known to have made multiple errors which RC had to correct later. For example, pope Honorius 1 (626-638) taught that Christ had only one will (monothelite) as opposed to human and divine Will. RC’s own council of Constantinople (680-681) rightly condemned as an error the monothelite doctrine which Honorius held. There is no infallible man on earth, has not been and will never be except Jesus Christ.

Evidence 10.

Idolatry is condemned by God in the Ten Commandments, command number two. The victim churches are well aware of this but they cannot get rid of their idolatrous spirit. Because of this, their representative, the Roman Catholic, have gone ahead to do the unimaginable by removing this command from the Decalogue-just to give them a leeway to practice idolatry. Go to India where idols are awash the street and you will count the ones that have been mounted by the RC alongside Hindu’s and Buddhism.’

Recently I visited a shrine built on the lakeside by a Sikh who claims that all gods are equal and that it doesn’t matter which one you worship. His shrine is a representative of major religions on earth with their idols mounted in their respective rooms. I happened to ignorantly walk towards a Hindu shrine and saw a Hindu priest chanting and walking fast round a tree. Since he was in the midst of his chants and prayers, he just signaled me to the RC shrine saying ‘church, church.’ When I went to the ‘church’, idols of Mary (and other saints) and other creatures, candles etc are what met my eyes. I could not differentiate the shrine of the Hindu and Buddhist from that allocated to RC in the name of Christian religion. All of them had idols of numerous shapes.

There is no doubt that many churches today worship idols (in various forms) in spite of the many times God shouts that He hates the worship of images. In fact, such churches thrive in idolatry so much that other idolaters welcome them in their camp. One day, a Hindu converted to Christianity told me that it is easier to convert a Hindu into RC than into Protestantism- simply because they will easily identify with the idolatry of RC. God punished the sin of Idolatry in Israel among other sins by sending them to captivity for seventy years.

Conclusion.

What I have presented here is a very brief scheming through the beliefs and practices of some churches. If one cares to up hold the Scriptures above human teachings, you will quickly come to a conclusion that Christianity in our present age, is under attack from many forces which is giving many people a comfortable ride to hell: Unfortunately such confusing denominations have the largest following in the world today in the name of Christianity. May I urge everyone who still respects the Bible to remain faithful to it and preach it. The wave of confusion is real and strong and it is only those who choose to worship God aright that will stand.

Do we have any reason to associate with such as Christians? No! Not at all. They preach and practice a different ‘gospel’ that is not found within the confines of the Bible and therefore, they are NOT Christians. From such, run away.

By Sam Oluoch

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING A BIBLICAL CHURCH

The inception of the church can be well traced over 2000 years back when Christ proclaimed “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matt. 16:18). “Hades” here stands for hell and thus we can safely arrive to the conclusion that the devil is not asleep in the ‘church-building business’. He is in hot pursuit of the church, wants to obliterate it and frustrate its efforts, but as Christians, we rest on the fact “the gates of Hades will not overcome it”.

The profound importance the church bears should then be evident to us via the strong force that is against it and who eventually promises to cushion it and see it through to the end.

In the New Testament, we see the word ‘church’ appear quite often. There are elements required in order for a church to exist and among these elements are its members. This brings me to the issue of ‘Church Membership’. Many people who claim to be Christians in Kenya tend to downplay this issue in as much as it is important. Well, church membership has not been concisely described by definition in the New Testament; however, there is a kicking presence of it. The book of Acts clearly brings out the issue of membership and refers to members of a church as ‘believers’.

During Peter’s time, whenever a sinner received salvation, he/she would be instantaneously identified with a certain group of people; the church (Ref. Acts 2: 38). There are also a number of responsibilities that come about with being a member of a church, and this boils down to the question, “what should I look for in a Church?’.  As Christians, our conviction is that the Bible is efficient and that we rely on it as our authority, and thus the beauty of this question is that the answer conspicuously lies in the Bible. Therefore I’ll do my best to back my findings with Bible verses as I narrow down on one specific critical element of a Biblical church.

A Biblical Church is:

·         GOSPEL-CENTRED

The gospel is the cornerstone of the church.  The mission of the church is to preach salvation and what Christ did for us on the cross. A church that preaches the gospel, glorifies God (Ref. Philippians 2:11). Eph.3:21 clearly explains that God will be glorified in every church that focuses on Jesus. If our passionate motive is to glorify God, then, we must constantly preach, teach, and be reminded of what Christ did for us on the cross.

In this day and age, churches are multifaceted and rocked by different doctrines. This has caused a wave of confusion concerning what direction to take when settling for a church (again the confusion only creeps in when we decide to be ignorant of what the Bible tells us).

God’s design for the church was not for it to preach and purely maximize on the ideologies of sentimentalism, moralism, emotionalism or legalism for this matter as is the trend of majority of churches today. When we dissect these doctrines and compare and contrast them with the early church, we find that these are some of the things the Bible deems ‘strange teachings ‘of which Paul in the Bible gives a stricture (Ref. 1 Timothy 1:3-11). We should keep it at the back of our minds that at the end of the day, it is all about God’s glory. In viewing the above doctrines and many more including mysticism (Paulo Coelho and the likes) we discover that these are self-centered teachings that only magnify man’s sin… ‘How to get rich quick’, ‘Channeling your inner vision’, ‘how to get back to your enemies’….the list is endless. No semblance of God’s glory in this. We can’t call ourselves Christians if all we believe in is in prosperity of wealth, health etc. Our prosperity, again, as the Bible puts it, is in heaven not on earth. May I encourage you to trust God for salvation and not the worldly things? If we put our trust in prosperity we risk hell for trusting in the wrong thing other than Christ Jesus who died for us on the cross so that before God, He sees us as spotless and righteous. Can’t we at least show an appreciation for this?

When believers joined the early church for example, their conviction was not based on these. Nor was it what we call today Prosperity Gospel. Their conviction and means of conversion was predicated upon belief, repentance and baptism (Ref. Acts 2:38)

When Paul addresses the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:1, he starts by reminding them of the Gospel, and warns them not to side track from it, otherwise their belief would be in vain.

As a means of conclusion, let me take this moment to challenge you that as accountability will be demanded on the day of judgment from our spiritual authorities, so will our accountability be demanded as members of the church: how we executed our roles as members, including what sought of church we attended, how we listened, what we listened to and whether all these at the end of the day gave God his due glory.

Food for thought: Is your church Bible-centered when it comes to preaching the gospel or are you part of the Hades that is frustrating the church? I am not asking here whether you use the Bible in your church but whether your pastor FAITHFULLY preaches the Bible a lone and the pure gospel. Many today add to it and minus from it in their preaching. Be warned. 

Article by:  Lois Oduor

                                             

Psalm 51 and Hosea 14

HOW TO REPENT .

In my pastoral work, a number of times I have been called upon to help a flock that has strayed in to sin. A few have stayed on in their sin and had to be removed from church membership, while the majority have repented of their sin and were forgiven by the church and restored. However in both cases, it was clear to me that the understanding of sin and repentance is not as easy as many would think. There are a number of issues that lead to biblical repentance of which I want to bring to the attention of not only errant church members but also the pastors. Psalm 51 and Hosea 14 will be my reference passages.

The understanding of sin.

Many terms have been used in describing what sin is: Missing the mark, falling short of God’s standard etc. Whatever term is used, sin is an affront against God. ALL sins committed are done against God. After prophet Nathan confronted David with his many sins that he committed against Uriah’s house, David responded not by apologizing to the remaining relatives of Uriah (which is not bad) but in Ps 51:4 he sees clearly that what he did was an affront against God and confesses thus: ‘Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.’ Any crime done against God is crime against humanity. When we are right with God we will be right with man. The point here is that David understood that his sins, like all the sins that man commits, were committed against God first. In Hosea 14:1 the same is seen, the call is to return to the one that has been offended-God.

On the other hand we need to understand that everyone is born a sinner and we do not acquire sin as we grow up in life. Sin is ingrained, we are born sinners and we only need a temptation to trigger the act. We carry sin with us. Man is like a gun with deadly bullets in it and only need an index finger to pull the trigger. When David repents he does not say ‘Aah God you know this sin just came in to my mind when I saw her at the open Bath room.’ Instead he says ‘in sin did my mother conceive me.’

Need to call sin, sin.

The greatest vice in my country that the government is ‘fighting’ is the issue of corruption. Somebody was bold enough one day to declare that corruption is a human right in this land. As far as I know, the Bible calls this sin and sin can’t be human right. Human beings do not have a right to sin. Anyway, Christians are equally overwhelmed with this vice and many times they have fallen but when confronted, they baptize it with terms like ‘I just gave a token of appreciation.’ Or ‘I just ministered to a need that I saw.’ The problem here is that some of these tokens of appreciations and needs are given to very rich people in the land. In short, sin is not seen as sin but given some nice name. King David did not turn around and say ‘you know Mr. Nathan; I was just admiring the beauty of God’s creation in Bathsheba.’ In V3 he says: ‘For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me.’ Hosea in the same vein encourages Israel to take words with them before the Lord v2, words that say we are idolatrous and have forsaken you God.

Need to take responsibility.

This is the challenging part to repentance. It is humiliating and humbling hence we want to pass the blame. Excuses like ‘Ooh it is because the pastor has not visited me for the last one month.’ ‘Oh it is my boss who is so inconsiderate.’ So long as there is a straw of excuse for a sinner to hang, he will not see the seriousness of his sin and offer acceptable repentance. David might as well have blamed Bathsheba for making her bath room directly opposite to the King’s palace and said for that matter she deserved it.

While still on this, let me address an issue that is commonly happening in many churches today in Africa. A person will come forth confessing sins of adultery or whatever his besetting sin is. Instead of being asked to call it sin and take responsibility of his/her sins, the pastor will direct him to some imagined ancestral curses. The battle is then directed to the ‘ancestors’ while meanwhile the fellow continues in his sin. When you sin, you are the sinner, not the ancestors. In Hosea and other Prophets, when Israel sinned, God dealt with Israel as a nation as the sinner without passing the blame. But in his sovereignty over the nations on earth he also descended on Babylon, Egypt and Assyria. This did not mean that he exonerated Israel of her own sins because of the nations that tempted her. There is a need to say: ‘God I am responsible for this sin’ without passing the back or enjoining someone in your mistakes. Taking responsibility of your sin is an integral part to biblical repentance. Here again, Hosea exhorts ‘take with you words.’

Genuine repentance.

In a case of church discipline, I once confronted a man who had fallen in to adultery and taken the lady as a second wife. In the process, he was very remorseful and ‘repented’. But when I asked him what he will do with his second wife (two months in to marriage) he said he will keep her and somehow God will understand. I asked him: ‘In the event that I stole 10,000 Shillings from you and got convicted that I have done wrong and came back to you and said, you Know George(not his name), I am the one who stole the 10,000, and in fact, it is still intact in my pocket, I have not used it, but I am very sorry forgive me for stealing your money, but anyway, since I am in need of money badly, I will not return it to you.’  

Now the point is, genuine repentance requires forsaking the sin and doing what is right. If you have the money in your pocket return it, Luke 19:8-10.

Ordinarily, man would not like to ‘return’ the money yet wants everyone plus God to believe that he has genuinely repented. If this happens, it is clear that the sinner has not appreciated all the above points that I have put up in as far sin and repentance is concerned: He does not understand what sin is, he has not called it sin and neither has he clearly chosen to take responsibility of his sin. Like in the case above, the fellow was quick to blame his first wife. One may want to challenge this view by asking why King David did not ask Bathsheba to go back to Uriah’s family to show genuine repentance. God willing, we will meet one day and discuss that. But for now may I draw your attention to some fellows in Rome who were telling Apostle Paul that it is good to keep on sinning for grace to abound more because sin provides a fertile ground for grace to flourish. Apostle’s reply to them was ‘not at all.’ (Rom 6: ff). In fact if you continue in your sins, it proves that you haven’t experienced that grace at all. You are still a slave to sin. Any sin un-repented and not forsaken will invite his uncles and cousins to come and pitch their tents in you.

God’s grace in forgiving sinners. Hosea 14.

That popular verse in 1John 1:9 is heartwarming to fallible sinners like us: ‘If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ Surely His grace forgives all kinds of sin. This has been the nature of God since OT.

In Hosea 14, the prophet speaks God’s words to Israel by saying ‘return’ (repent) to the Lord your God.’ In a manner of speaking he encourages them thus: ‘Take your words, and go to God, tell him that you have messed yourself in sin as a nation and that running for help from other nations will not help the situation until we come back to you our God in repentance of our sins.’ In the spirit of John above God responds: If they will realize their sins, acknowledge it and take responsibility then God says in Hosea 14: 4, ‘I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.’ Yes, sinners who repent Jesus will receive freely. We must never fear repenting of our sins and forsaking them whatever they may be and as the Father forgives freely, so freely we must forgive repentant sinners.

Written by Pastor Sam Oluoch

Bible reference ESV.