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
No comments:
Post a Comment