Church and Christianity
To virtually all the world the words "Church" and "Christianity" are synonymous with the people that profess to believe in and follow Christ. Amazingly, the word "church" does not occur in the Greek of the New Testament but is a mistranslation.
At the end of this age, in the book of Revelation, we find God calling to His people to come out of a place he calls Babylon and the Great Whore to avoid the plagues she will receive for her sins. Where is this place that God's people find themselves that is a "habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit" (Rev. 18:2).
The apostle Paul told us that "such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." (2Cor 11:13-15). Where are these false, deceitful ministers who claim to be sent by Christ? Where is Satan's influence to be found posing to be a source of light to those seeking God?
They can only be in places that claim to be of Christ! Christian denominations! As you read these articles prepare to be surprised and shocked. Satan deceives the whole world. He is hiding in a place that seems to be above suspicion but Paul also wrote that the one who "as God sitteth in the temple of God" will "be revealed in his time" (1Thess 2:4,6). As we draw nearer to the events that will herald the return of Christ the truth about the antichrist spirit and where it is hiding will be revealed.
New Birth Teaching Series
"You must be born again"
Three hours of audio teaching (transcript available) from Pastor John Clark, Sr. on the subject of the "New Birth".
When is a person born again and how do you know? The Bible contains clear revelation from God about when a person is born again. Learn what had to occur before the new birth was available to man. Listen as Pastor John covers these topics and more:This is perhaps the most important issue for a person to understand.
Have you been born again?
Thought for Today
May. 14
TWO UNITIES
The children of God are divided among the different sects of Christianity. Some support Church of God doctrine; some support Assembly of God doctrine; others, the Apostolic sect's doctrine; others, Catholic doctrine; others, Baptist doctrine, and so forth. The list of differing, conflicting doctrines that God's children endorse is extremely long. How far-off seems the "unity in the faith" to which Paul hoped the saints would come. It seems like dream almost lost to memory. The divisions of faith among God's people are many, and the differences between those many doctrines are enormous.
It appears hopeless that the body of Christ will ever be united and "see eye to eye" concerning the truth of Christ, but that unity will be realized. At some point in the future, God will unite His people in the faith. God can do it. It may take much suffering, great persecution, and earth-shattering catastrophes, but it will be accomplished. In the meantime, until God does cleanse the body of its ignorance and self-will, we are all commanded to partake of another kind of holy unity: "the unity of the Spirit".
You can feel it whenever you meet someone who truly believes in Christ. The Spirit of God bears witness with your spirit that you have met someone who belongs in the family. The love you feel for such a person, the kinship of hope, is a spiritual unity that transcends all doctrinal differences. We need not "speak the same thing" in order to experience that unity; it is a unity of faith in the same God, a harmony that is there, no matter what one has been taught.
Paul exhorted the saints in Ephesus to "endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit" until "we all come in the unity of the faith" (Eph. 4:3, 13). If we only allow ourselves to feel and show love toward those who are taught the same doctrine that we have been taught, we are very far from the heart of God. He loves all His children, and is not willing that any of them be lonely or lost. His feelings of kinship with all His children must become ours.
We may not be able to teach the brothers and sisters we meet the wonderful truth that Jesus has taught us, but we can love them with the same love with which Jesus has loved us. We may not agree with their words, but we can be happy for everything that God has done for them. Their doctrine may be wrong, and we may not want to hear it, but their experiences with Jesus are always perfect, and we should encourage them to talk about them. The best, if not only way to love most of God's people is simply to let them talk about what God has done in their lives.
With many of His own children, God only has "the unity of the Spirit". They do not know His voice; they do not understand His word. They do know, however, how it feels for the holy Ghost to fall upon them, and that is the only kind of fellowship that their heavenly Father has with them. That may be the only kind of fellowship we can have with them, too, but if that is all they can bear, then let us give it to them with all our hearts. That is what God does, and so, that is what we must do. Jesus said that he only did what he saw the Father do (Jn. 5:19), and that is our example.