Date: 1 November, 2011

To all biblically literate Christians, the title of this treatise should come as no surprise. It is something we have known from the beginning would be coming upon the world. What is most distressing to many is that it is happening here, now, in our lifetime.

But the deeper problem facing the Christian Church is just how few actually know the truth.

It is no secret that Bill Hybels, the pastor of Willow Creek Church, outside Chicago, Illinois, created the concept of "seeker sensitive" as it applies to appealing to those outside Christianity in a way that is neither condemning or offensive. The goal was to create an inviting environment into which a 'seeker' could enter to learn about Jesus. This involved removing all objectionable language from sermons, removing discussions about judgment and hell, sin and consequences.

What remains is a gospel message without flavour or substance (Matt. 5:13). What was presented is a philosophy of acceptance and inclusion without the uncomfortable discussions about the fallen state of man, that man's spirit is dead before God so long as he remains in his sin, that no man is "good", that all have sinned, all are worthy of death. There is no discussion of God's righteous judgment and justice, which must prevail and cannot be assuaged, except through the atoning sacrifice of Christ Jesus upon the cross.

Never mind that by 2007, Bill Hybels confessed that the "seeker sensitive" concept was a categorical failure, even a mistake. But did he return to the full gospel message of the Bible? No. Instead, he embraced Rick Warren's Purpose Driven philosophy - born of Peter Drucker's business marketing strategies and borrowing elements of Hybels' own failed seeker sensitive approach. He didn't change direction at all, but simply shifted to a model that was "successful", not biblical.

Many churches today have become a place you can come to be welcomed, accepted and affirmed in whatever you believe. The Church today is slowly embracing the ecumenical approach, that the Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, even pagans, all have the 'right' to salvation by virtue of faithfully following their religion's tenets. Nobody needs reject the world system, false religious beliefs, or change anything in their lives. They just need to be 'good people' and do unto others as they would have them do unto themselves. Treat people well and you are on the path to heaven.

The problem is that this completely contradicts everything the Bible teaches, whether through prophet, psalmist or Jesus Himself.

The popular notion about the End Times 'darkness', that evil will descend upon the earth through the world system, while correct in that respect, ignores the warnings given in scripture that people from within our own church family would rise up, introducing false doctrines and practices into the creeds, covenants, tenets, teachings and doctrines (2 Peter 2:1-3). A quite insidious form of darkness is being established from within the Church itself, championed by the very shepherds, teachers, so-called prophets, authors and councils charged with leading us to the light of salvation (2 Cor. 11:13).

Matt. 6:22: "The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
23: "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"

As a building with dirty windows will not allow the full light of the sun to enter, so the person who does not know, or will not see and accept the whole truth, will cling to, even be shrouded in darkness, both mentally, emotionally and more importantly, spiritually.

And a pastor that removes the uncomfortable lessons in the Bible from consideration will be condemned for their selfish and destructive decision (Ezek 34). Withhold the truth - particularly as a teacher - and you will be brought to account for your actions. Just read Matthew 23 and you will see Jesus in direct conflict with the teachers and leaders of the Synagogues and the Temple. He exposes these vile men for teaching false ideas and holding false beliefs about the Law. And He condemned them in every aspect of their corruption of the sacred Word of God.

John 7:18: "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory..."
Gal. 6:8: For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Do the leaders of contemporary Christianity, regardless of their faith, sincerely believe they are shedding the light of Truth into the Darkness, exposing sin and depravity by denying the very essence of the Law? They teach from extrabibilical ideology and topics based on feelings and experiences rather than from the foundational lessons of biblical History. Do they honestly believe what they teach will save anyone from the judgment to come?

We must remember, too, that we are charged with examining anything that is introduced to the congregation. It is an individual responsibility to test the material, weigh it against the scriptures. If we accept that the Bible is the inerrant, irrefutable and true word of God, then it is without error and always correct.

Acts 17:11: Now these (the Bereans)...received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.

Today's church leaders are themselves as guilty as the Pharisees and Saducees of Jesus' day, in how they twist and distort the message, how they withhold critical knowledge and understanding from their charges - all of which plunges the faithful, the seeker -- everyone -- into the abyss called ignorance. So they fall into darkness by fiat, because our pastors, evangelists, preachers and so-called prophets speak lies and treachery, pleasantries and platitudes, all wrapped in a veneer of "love" and "acceptance", even a message of prosperity and celebration, victory and conquest (see Ezek 3:18-21).

Anyone who goes into a typical church looking for answers will no longer be warned they are sinners before an angry God. They will not be warned that judgment awaits all who reject the saving grace of Christ Jesus. They will not be told that salvation comes by faith alone in Christ alone - and no other person, philosophy, belief, science or mysticism. They will not be told these things in clear, direct, unambiguous terms. And they will leave with a skewed idea of what true Christianity is all about because the truth they needed to hear will have been deliberately withheld from them. They came shrouded in darkness, and they leave even worse off because the teachers of contemporary Christianity refuse to speak plainly the things of the Bible, for fear of offending the newly saved, the unbelievers, chasing away the seekers, even raising the ire of the community that surrounds them.

The Great Commission is not about sharing a squishy, touchy-feely, feel good, comfortable, easy message. But if our leaders insist on redefining, even tearing down Christianity and creating a 'new' Christianity, but without the power and authority of God, it is no longer Christianity, but something far different - malevolent, evil, leading only to destruction.

We are entering a time the world has never, never seen or experienced. Jesus said the time of the End would be "...as in the days of Noah..." Read the story of Noah (Gen. 6 - 8) for yourself. If you look around you will see quite clearly that the world is increasingly rebellious in their behaviour, turning to their own devices and ways, rejecting the God of the Bible and the warnings that are given about such conduct in very much the same fashion as "...in the days of Noah..." (Matt. 24:37-39).

Yet, there is more to what Jesus said than just that people would be living and carrying on as in those days. When you read the prophecies of Jesus, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, John and the rest, you get a very clear indication that the events of these approaching Last Days are quite a bit worse than the days of Noah. While the Flood decimated the earth, wiping out all but the eight people and the animals on the Ark, the coming times spoken of in the prophecies make that end almost preferrable to what we now face.

Matt. 24:21: "...for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall."
James 4:4: You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

The adultery of the Christian community is that they are abandoning their faith and doctrines in favour of a relativism that permits any and all beliefs to be seen as "within acceptable practices" for believers. And this compromise will result in calamity for them that retreat from biblical truth.

Paul warn against revisiting sin:

Rom. 6:1: What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?
2: May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
6: ...knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin...

Yet, Christians are abandoning the prinicples of the Law, the foundations of our faith, in favour of a kind of buffet style religious devotion that permits the sinful desserts of the flesh to be indulged without guilt, without consequence -- at least insofar as what is being taught from the contemporary pulpit in most churches.

1 Tim. 4:1: But the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron...
2 Tim. 4:3: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires;
4: and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.

And just what kind of doctrines? And what sort of myths? Who are the liars they listen to? The list is very long, and we've already mentioned Bill Hybels and Rick Warren as two prime examples of the heresy that is consuming the Church today. So, let's mention just one other example...

Rob Bell wrote a book called "Love Wins..." In this book, if he doesn't outright declare it, he certainly suggests that those who die in their sin may not be lost forever to the Lake of Fire and eternal damnation. It is a nice thought, a "kind" thought, even a desire we may all share - that we do not wish for anyone to suffer eternal separation from God. Even the Lord does not wish it (Ezek. 18:32).

Bell contends the possibility exists that those who die in their sin may, at some point while in Hell, come to recognize their "error", their sinfulness, and become truly remorseful and sorry for the life they lead while on earth, and so then cry out to God, to Jesus, for mercy and forgiveness. God, in His infinite mercy and love, will hear them from Heaven and draw them to Himself and forgive all their evil and grant them pardon, and entrance into Heaven.

Like I said, it's a nice thought, one we would all like to believe, even hope to be true. But the scriptures are very clear; Jesus is very clear. People who reject God and are judged and sentenced to the Lake of Fire, "hell", have no escape, ever.

Matt. 7:21: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven...
22: "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name...?'
23: "And then I will declare to them 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"
John 3:36: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey (believe) the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
John 15:6: "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."
Ps. 9:5: Thou hast rebuked the nations; Thou hast destroyed the wicked; Thou hast blotted out their name forever and ever.

The nature of these statements is declarative, defining that there is an eternal consequence for disbelieving ("...I never knew you..."; blotted out... their names forever and ever), for false belief and faithless devotion. There is no suggestion in anything these or any other scriptures that tell us that there will be a period of punishment for the rebellious, but after which there will come repentance and eventual acceptance into the heavenly presence of God.

You see, perfect Justice demands perfect justice. We may see it as cruel. But God is not cruel, He is Righeous, Just and Perfect in all His ways.

Ps. 9:8: (And) He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.

So if even He sees the need to mete out His justice, which is not false, misguided or in any way less than perfect, then we cannot argue that such a sentence for the rebellious and faithless is somehow lacking compassion and mercy as part of the consideration in God's will.

As America declines as a nation, as Americans turn more and more away from the God of the Bible and to their own self-interest, do you not find it interesting that the rest of the world has begun to descend into even greater tumult than they have already experienced over the last twenty to thirty years? Violence is on the increase and lawlessness is running rampant. Europe, long sliding into secular humanism, has begun to experience unrest not seen since World War II. The stability of the European Union is faltering, and violence among the people is increasing as a result of their policies, beliefs and practices - far removed from the overall calm and peace that existed in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Around the world, nations descend into chaos and emerge worse for their changes. This cannot be coincidence. If America, now in decline, was once a great nation, even a standard bearer for freedom and liberty, preserver of peace, it has begun, through moral and spiritual decay, to lose all influence and become an object of ridicule among our enemies of old, and new emerging enemies who were once allies.

Ez. 14:13: "Son of man, if a country sin against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it, and cut off from it both man and beast,
14: "even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves," declares the Lord God.
Matt. 12:25: ..."Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand,
26: "And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? (see also Mark 3: 23-26)

The absolute truth is that the message of Jesus Christ runs counter to what the world, and now sadly much of evangelicalism, expects or wants God to be like. Jesus calls us out of the world to walk the opposite way as the rest of the people are going. Remember now, Romans 12:18 says — If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all (emphasis mine). As I have pointed out before, just by the way the sentence is written, you know it will not always be possible to avoid offending someone.

It comes with the commitment to a true Christian life; and Jesus has already told us it would! Now there is a choice that has appeared before us today with crystalline clarity in the Christian community — no matter what flavor you might consider yourself. We can listen to weak-kneed people-pleasers, such as those I mentioned earlier; or, we can listen to our Lord and Master Jesus Christ:

John 15:18: "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
19: "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20: "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
21: "But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me."

Pretty clear, don't you think?

We are charged with telling the world the truth about what rebellion against God means, just as much as we should tell them what devotion to and acceptance of the salvation gift of Jesus means, how our lives will be enhanced, be more abundant (not necessarily wealthy, and certainly not always free of struggle or suffering), fulfilling and filled with love. And for the full gospel message, properly shared, the world will hate us.

Why we seem to be insisting on trying to make the world love us is beyond me. Such efforts only compromise the full truth God has given us to share, undiluted, complete, and without apology.

Stay tuned for Part Two of this treatise in about a month.

May the Lord Jesus keep and protect you from all falsehood and show you the way of truth.