A very short word:

 On sonship

WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW THAT I DIDN’T KNOW, ABOUT disciples

 

Wake up, beloved. Wake up. ‘Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.’ (Ephesians 5:14). Have you not seen & heard what’s occurring in The Church at large? Do you not know what’s stirring, what’s happening, what’s coming? Are you deaf? Are you dumb? Are you blind? Just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 70 or so years, it turns out that The lord is taking the anointings of past moves of The Spirit, putting them all together & rolling out the greatest, biggest, hugest mushroom cloud making revival event ever known to man! This stuff will be so overwhelming that it will probably be viewable from space …or so it has been said. Yes, I may be exaggerating, a little, but those of you who are familiar with my particular peculiarities will know that what I say is tinged with seriousness. For many a false apostle, prophet, preacher & teacher, this is a last roll of the dice, Why? Because their father the devil knows that he has but a short time. In the face of this onslaught, what are the faithful  going to do? Are we going to lay back in the comfortable softness of compromised western Christianity? We are in an hour when The Lord expects those whom He has made sons (John 1:12), to act like sons. I don’t mean walking around as if we owned the place. We can leave that to the false apostles & prophets of the word-of-faith movement & the new apostolic reformation. I mean living as loyal, faithful & loving sons of God, taking our chief example from The Son of God Himself. It can’t be any clearer than that! If you are simply warming a bench in your fellowship, you need to repent. Unless…well no, but…unless you’re just a mere churchgoer.

The charismatic mega church model has a lot to answer for in this regard, because when there are large numbers of people attending church gatherings consistently, it’s considered a success! Everyone wants the big numbers. The people roll in.  False teachers roll in. The money rolls in. False doctrine rolls in. The world rolls in. False brethren roll in. Beyond the bright lights, loud music, fluff & candy floss, there is little or no substance. As long as the crowd turns up, everyone is happy. However, if these crowds are not drawn by a love of the truth, which ought to be taught systematically, they are no different to the vermin that are attracted by piles of putrid, festering rubbish. There is no discipleship in these gatherings. There is only membership. The two are not synonymous.

Membership is easy. You may make promises. You may shake someone’s hand. You may get a pat on the back. You may sit in the same seat every week, trying not to fall asleep during services. Members attend meetings. Members are present in body, if not in mind. But they go no further. They do very little, if anything at all. There is a distinct lack of prayer & God’s Word in their lives. You don’t have to continue in The Word to be a member; you just have to continue coming. You arrive. You say hi. You leave. You say bye. Moreover, a church member will hear their Pastor preach or teach sound doctrine & immediately upon leaving the service they will promptly go & listen to a heretic, with no distinct ability to tell the difference between the two. I kid you not.

The Lord wants us to move into a real discipleship, which means an engagement with Him & with His Word. You & I are less likely to drift away or into error, if we are discipled & more likely to be useful to The Kingdom of God & of His Christ.

³¹ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; ³² And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  ³³ They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? ³⁴ Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. ³⁵ And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. ³⁶ If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:31-36).

Discipleship brings us into a knowledge of the truth of God’s Word. That truth makes us free. This is more than membership. The disciple is one who has not only believed in Christ, but also one who continues in Hs word. The disciple is disciplined to The Lord Jesus Christ & no one else.

²⁴ Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. ²⁵ He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. ²⁶ Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? ²⁷ He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? ²⁸ Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.’ (John 9:28).

Whose disciple are you? Who are you following? Whose words are you listening to? Paul says, ‘If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings. Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.’ (1^st Timothy 6:3-5).

‘This is the sort of thing you should teach, and if anyone tries to teach some doctrinal novelty which is not compatible with sound teaching (which we base on Christ’s own words and which leads to Christ-like living), then he is a conceited idiot! His mind is a morbid jumble of disputation and argument, things which lead to nothing but jealousy, quarrelling, insults and malicious innuendoes—continual wrangling, in fact, among men of warped minds who have lost their real hold on the truth but hope to make some profit out of the Christian religion.’ (1st Timothy 6:3-5 J. B. Phillips Translation).

Sitting in front of your television, watching TBN, Daystar or doomscrolling YouTube shorts & trawling the internet, is no substitute for proper systematic teaching. At the risk of upsetting some & angering others, I will say this; significant portions of so called Christian broadcasting, are not fit for purpose. This is not discipleship. This is not The Gospel we hear preached today.

²⁴ The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? (Matthew 10:24-25).

Whose disciple are you? Who are you following? Whose words are you listening to? I am not saying that we shouldn’t listen to ministers who instruct us in God’s Word. God has set teachers in the body (1^st Corinthians 12:28). But can that person disciple you? Can they lead you? Can they guide you? More importantly, will they give an account for you? The answer is no.

It frustrates me that many will pay more attention to strangers than they will to their own Pastors. Moreover, they will donate huge sums of money to charlatans & heretics, while neglecting the needs of the fellowship that they belong to. Too many Christians follow the path of least resistance. They do not consider counting the cost. Even as I write these words, I am conscious that I have some repenting to do.

²⁵ And there went great multitudes with him and he turned and said unto them, ²⁶ If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. ²⁸ For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? ²⁹ Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, ³⁰ Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. ³¹ Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? ³² Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. ³³ So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. ³⁴ Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? ³⁵ It is neither fit for the land nor yet for the dunghill but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear let him hear (Luke 14:25-35). 

Whose disciple are you? Who are you following? Whose words are you listening to? The charismatic mega church model doesn’t have time for discipleship, so it promotes membership. More people. More money. Confess. Believe. Declare. Decree. Rinse. Repeat. There is no sitting down in order to count the cost. There is no forsaking all to follow Him.

You will become the disciple of those watch; those whose books you buy; those whose teachings you follow. You will become faithful to them. Whose disciple are you? Who are you following? Whose words are you listening to?

When they say jump, you ask how high. When they say give, you ask how much. This is not a joke. This is a symptom of a direct dereliction of duty by ministers & negligence on the part of believers. There is no excuse.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. ¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matthew 28:18-20).  

The Church needs to get back to basics, because the faulty foundation of cuteness, politeness, neatness & niceness isn’t cutting it. Christ’s example of commitment to The Father is the disciple’s standard of allegiance. ‘Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.’ (John 20:21). These men were not walking in membership. They were walking in discipleship. They believed in Him. They continued in His word. As they preached The Gospel, they made disciples, not members (Acts 2:42).

The mistake made by many in The Church at large is this: they forget that it is both the example of Christ’s life & the manner of His death that we are to observe. We hear about His birth & we celebrate it. We hear about His death & we remember it. But for the most part we ignore the masterclass of His life as an example of discipleship. This is why we as believers are told explicitly about the manner of lives we are to live. The real difference between membership & discipleship is the difference between actively going to church & actually being The Church. Forget what the false apostles, prophets, preachers & teachers are saying. Keep your money. Burn their books. Turn them off. Listen to your Pastor teach sound doctrine. Follow Christ & Christ alone. When we embrace biblical discipleship, this will truly be one of the greatest, biggest, hugest mushroom cloud making revival events ever known to man!

 

The good, the bad

& the ungodly

-6-

choosing the lord’s side in the current christian civil war

In concluding this series of articles, I have to pick up where I left off in our last meeting; the matter of truth. On this knife edge is balanced our integrity. If you or I violate the truth that binds us to The Gospel & its Christ, we abandon a holy standard. Let me speak for myself for a moment. I know that my conscience will not allow me to seek a unity with anyone or an affiliation to anything that blasphemes YHWH, The Holy Spirit or Our Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ. I can only hold to a biblical doctrine; a true Christology; a clear orthopraxy. I cannot pretend that the obvious, glaring differences between myself & others, do not exist or matter. They do. I say this concerning primary fundamental matters. I don’t actually care about carpets, accoutrements or curtains. But I do care about salvation by grace alone, through faith alone. I do care about believer’s baptism. I do care about the inspiration of The Scriptures. I do care about The Incarnation. I do care about The Trinity. I do care about eternal punishment. I do care about God’s purposes for Israel, without whom we Gentiles would have no access to The New Covenant. To those who suggest that these elements can be swept aside, as if they were secondary, in favour of the appearance of a united front, I would say this; how dare you attempt to arbitrarily dismantle the work of Christ at the cross with such casual abandon? It is an insult! Hebrews says, ‘He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.’ (Hebrews 10:28-31). My conscience will not allow me to do this. I thumb my nose at hollow ecumenical efforts in the same way that they spit in the face of Christ, His Apostles & those who earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. In the words of that great theologian, Luke Skywalker, to his nemesis Darth Vader; I’ll never join you! Pah! ‘But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.’ (Jeremiah 10:8).

You would be forgiven for thinking that God was a sad but benevolent father, looking down on The Church at large & asking why His children aren’t getting along. Such is the subtle & insidious nature of ecumenicalism. It is nothing more than the assumed fatherhood of God & brotherhood of man. Unfortunately, we cannot simply put our differences aside & pretend that they don’t matter. They do!

I have been asked whether or not I believe that The Lord wants His Church to come together. Emphatically yes. As long as it is His Church. Denominational lines do not concern me. Doctrinal lines do. Whatever we believe will lead directly to what we practise. It is not enough to pay a nominal lip service to the faith. We must be born again (John 3:3-7, 1^st Peter 1:23).

Any church, movement, group or denomination that is Christian in name only, is not a candidate for biblical unity.

Any church, movement, group or denomination that promotes demonstrably false Doctrine, is not a candidate for biblical unity.

Any church, movement, group or denomination that possesses an aberrant Christology, is not a candidate for biblical unity.

Any church, movement, group or denomination that openly rejects The Scriptures, is not a candidate for biblical unity.

This narrows the field significantly. Not because I say so, but rather, because this was the teaching of The Lord Jesus Christ & the Apostles. Despite this, there are still those who will twist The Scriptures, to their own destruction. Let’s look at some of their favourites.

¹² For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. ¹³ For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. ¹⁴ For the body is not one member, but many. ¹⁵ If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? ¹⁶ And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? ¹⁸ But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. ¹⁹ And if they were all one member, where were the body? ²⁰ But now are they many members, yet but one body. ²¹ And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. ²² Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: ²³ And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. ²⁴ For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: ²⁵ That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.  ²⁶ And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. ²⁷ Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (1^st Corinthians 12:12-27).

‘You see..’, they say, ‘..we are one body, therefore it doesn’t matter which part of The Church you belong to; we are simply different members of the body of Christ & didn’t Paul say “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” (Ephesians 5:29-30)?’. I strongly disagree on the grounds that it is wholly unbiblical. You & I are members of the body of Christ if we are born again. Paul is speaking to believers, not unbelievers. Paul is admonishing those who have believed the true Gospel, not a false one. Paul is teaching the Doctrine of Christ, which he & the other Apostles received from The Lord Himself, not the doctrines of demons. Despite this, there are still those who will twist The Scriptures, to their own destruction. Let’s look at another one of their favourites.

¹ I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, ² With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; ³ Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ One Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. (Ephesians 4:1-7).

‘You see..’ they say ‘..God wants unity, not division. Paul uses the word “one” several times in order to emphasize that point. Therefore, all churches must come together’. Oh please; will you go & read Ephesians chapters 2 & 3!! 

Paul says, ‘For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.’ (Ephesians 3:1-7). Paul is highlighting the fact that we are to make every effort to maintain a unity that only God can establish through The Gospel, uniting believing Jews & believing Gentiles in Christ.

Paul says keep the unity. He doesn’t say create it. Paul uses the word one several times in order to highlight the fact that there aren’t two or three or four bodies. There is one. Are you listening, you ecu-men? This applies to born again believers, Not every Tom, Dick & Harriet.

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; ¹⁵ Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; ¹⁶ And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: ¹⁷ And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. ¹⁹ Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; ²⁰ And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; ²¹ In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: ²² In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit (Ephesians 2:13-22). 

Despite this, there are still those who will twist The Scriptures, to their own destruction. Let’s look at another one of their favourites.

¹⁴ I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. ¹⁵ As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd (John 10:14-16).

The Lord was not speaking about denominations here. He references those sheep who are His & those sheep who need to come in. This is Ezekiel 34. Ecumenicalism proports the falsehood that this is Jesus bringing The Church together. ‘We’re all His sheep’, it is said. That is a lie; some of those who promote this movement are goats.

⁵ Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. ⁶ Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. ⁷ Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, ⁸ And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed (1^st Peter 2:5-8). 

¹⁴ And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. ¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful (Colossians 3:14-15). 

⁵ So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another (Romans 12:5).

⁶ That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:6).

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

¹³ Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: ¹⁴ That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; ¹⁵ But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: ¹⁶ From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:13-17). 

I encourage all those who truly believe, to resist ecumenicalism as a doctrine of demons. Take a stand against it. If we look again at what The Lord Jesus Christ said & know what He meant, we will recoil from any endeavour to partner with immoral, idolatrous, blasphemous heretics who have their own agenda. Today we are told that we should all come together as one in Christ. Tomorrow we will be told that we should all come together & buy the world a Coke. The true Church will remain distinct, doctrinally pure & faithful in its practise. God bless. 

 

 

 

 copyright © by david Samuel Parkins mmxxvi all rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

 

 

 

The good, the bad

& the ungodly

-5-

 choosing the lord’s side in the current christian civil war

 

Since our last meeting, I gather that I’ve been coming in rather hot, or so I’ve been told. I will not apologise. I am not afraid, nor am I ashamed of anything that I have said & just so y’know, I’m about to say more. To quote the words of that great theologian Pontius Pilate; ‘..what I have written, I have written.’. There are some who would twist the words of The Lord Jesus & His Apostles, to give The Church at large the impression that all bets are off, all barriers are down & all boundaries have been removed in order to facilitate the greatest move of God since…. Well, you’ve heard it all before. The unity that is being prophesied, preached & promoted today has to be biblical, not philosophical or ideological. Again, When The Lord prayed His prayer, as we have it in John 17, there weren’t the denominations that we have now or any of its derivative cults. At the time of Christ there were Jewish sects with differing beliefs & practices, while they still claimed to be the children of Abraham. There were the Scribes; the Pharisees; the Sadducees; the Zealots; the Sicarii; the Herodians; the Essenes & of course, the Samaritans. What we are hearing today is tantamount to the following. Pharisees maintaining their tradition & legalism. Scribes keeping to their intellectual snobbery & subjective interpretation of The Law. Sadducees upholding their powerless, nominal lip service & denial of the supernatural. Herodians continuing to wallow in their worldliness & flirtations with politics. Zealots pursuing their blind fundamentalism with heart & soul. Sicarii ever poised to strike out with murderous intentions. Samaritans drowning in half truths. All the while declaring their supposed validity over & against others. Does any of this sound vaguely familiar? Look at our situation today. It has not improved. This is to say nothing of the enormous financial resources, land & chattels at the disposal those oh so devout pretenders, at the heads of their state placating organisations, which are nothing more than massive property portfolios & minister’s pension funds. Anyway, I digress. It would have been impossible for those groups to come together, unless…no, but…well ok, unless they laid their principles down, put their doctrines aside & threw their conviction away. Then, they could be driven by a set of core values & guiding principles ..like love. Cue birdsong, kittens & butterflies. Excuse me, while I dab the sceptical tears from the corners of my cynical eyes.

Look at The Lord’s interactions with those sects. He constantly argued these rebels into a cocked hat. His emphasis was their need to believe in Him & He who sent Him. They openly hated Christ, while they claimed a love of God.

They tested Him, just as they had tested YHWH in the wilderness. They murmured against Him, just as they had against Moshe Rabbeinu. They sought to kill him, just as they had murdered the prophets. They profaned His Name, just as they had in their historical rebellions. They rejected His doctrine, just as they had rejected true meaning of Torah.

They demonised the source of His miraculous power. They doubted His deity. They rejected His Messiahship. They denied He was their king. They refused to come to Him so that He could give them life. Nothing has changed brethren. Nothing. Has. Changed. Is The Church at large any better? Remember the words of The Lord Jesus:

³⁷ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! ³⁸ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate (Matthew 23:37-38). 

Just out of ecumenical interest, who will go first? Which group is willing to dismantle their operation, cash in their chips & say, ‘..brethren, because division is diabolical but diversity is divine, we’re going to scrap our history, admit we are wrong & cross our denomination off the list in an effort to keep the unity of The Spirit in the bond of peace..’. No one is going to do that because everybody wants to be the head honcho ..& what about all that money sloshing around in the bank?

Like liquid in its weakness, they follow the path of least resistance. They downplay doctrine. They ignore essentials. They discount error.

If that is not the case in fact, then riddle me this, you ecu-men: why do leaders who promote this, only do half a job? They talk about unity, but do not take their followers through The Scriptures to prove their point? Why not? Because they can’t! Do not forget Who the Head of The Church is & what He taught. The Lord Jesus Christ is a divisive figure & was so from His birth, right through to his death.

³⁴ And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; ³⁵ (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Luke 2:34-35).

¹⁹ When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him (Matthew 27:19).

⁴³ So there was a division among the people because of him (John 7:43).

¹⁹ There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings (John 10:19).

³⁴ Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. ³⁶ And a man's foes shall be they of his own household (Matthew 10:34-36).

⁵¹ Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: ⁵² For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. ⁵³ The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law (Luke 12:51-53). 

Well, what happened to peace on earth & good will to all men? (Luke 2:13-14). Wasn’t that the announcement made by the angels to the shepherds? Isn’t this also one of the ecumenicists favourite places to go? Let’s ignore the above passages or at least attempt to spiritualise them, because they’re a little close to the bone. I’m afraid we can’t do that. If we did, we’d also have to tear out Micah 7.

⁵ Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. ⁶ For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.  ⁷ Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. ⁸ Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. (Micah 7:5-8).

This is not language that promotes holding hands, linking arms & embracing others of an aberrant doctrine, theology or Christology. This is the divisive language that demands to know who is on The Lord’s side (Exodus 32:26). Of course, the ecumenical agenda side steps this in its curious dance around the real issues. The Lord Jesus never, ever promoted anything other than  belief in Him & in He Who sent Him. Those are they who are on His side. That is the standard. Those who point these things out again & again & again & yet again, will be the ones vilified as discordant & unloving trouble-makers.

¹⁷ Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them (Romans 16:17). Did you get that?

³ For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (1^st Corinthians 3:3). Did you get that?

¹¹ Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you (2^nd Corinthians 13:11). Did you get that?

Notice, Paul refers to the recipients as brethren. These are believers in Christ who have accepted Him & His Gospel. He is not speaking to unconverted members or unbelieving clergy. If you are not born again, you don’t qualify. You don’t. The above verses are often quoted to me, by the smug. They’re great verses, in their contexts. Someone even cited part of a speech delivered by Ravi Zacharias to somehow prove their point.

‘I'm very aware that there are differences in our belief systems and some of them are pretty deep. But you know we find the common ground on which to meet and talk because conviction that is not undergirded by love makes the possessor of that conviction obnoxious and the dogma possessed becomes repulsive and so whatever our differences may be, it is wonderful that in a world torn by strife and so on that we can come together, especially on a subject so vast that at the end of it we are bound to walk away and say we know almost nothing of this because we are dealing with the loftiest of all personages our very own Lord Jesus Christ whom we follow and before whom sone day every knee shall bow.’. Wow.

At face value, if he were speaking to folk who have the same core doctrinal beliefs & Christology, I wouldn’t have as much of a problem. But he wasn’t. There isn’t enough vinegarette in the world to dress that word salad. Mr. Zacharias was addressing the Latter Day Saints, at their Mormon tabernacle. This is where ecumenicalism leads.

I remind my detractors of the fact that the word smug is an anagram of mugs, because only mugs would ignore the doctrine of Christ, sideline the teaching of the Apostles & readily fall for ecumenical lies.

Don’t forget that context is king, but we can get into that another time. Before we delve into 2^nd Corinthians, let’s have a look at Paul says in 1^st Corinthians. ‘Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you (1^st Corinthians 11:17-19).

If division is so diabolical, why does it reveal those who are approved or genuine? Paul accepts the inevitability of factions. They’re going to occur. But they shouldn’t happen for the petty reasons that some cling to & blame The Lord for. Separate because of doctrinal deviation & hold that line. Split because of unrepentant, continual sin & hold that line. While these righteous divisions remain; hold that line. Hold. That. Line.

Of course, if we do this as true believers, it will be us & not they who will be accused of being sectarian. So what. We defend our position from The Scriptures, with clear consciences. Never, never, never, ever violate your conscience in order to accommodate falsehood brethren, because at some point, you will have to take up the sword of The Word against it & there will be casualties.

 

 

 

 

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