“This book has shocked me to the core. No wonder the writer warns that ‘if you are not willing to have your Christianity seriously examined do not read this book. Spare yourself the trouble of having your Christian life turned upside down!’ Wow. I think this book just took my Christianity to a whole new level of understanding! I am shell shocked that I did not know any of this. Every Christian should read this book. If they dare.” Karen Cochran
Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna
“The Christian faith was born in believer’s homes, yet every Sunday morning, scores of Christians sit in a building with pagan origins that is based upon Pagan Philosophy”.
“We somehow have been taught to feel holier when we are in ‘the house of God’ and have inherited a pathological dependency upon edifice to carry out our worship to God”.
“We are doing great damage to the message of the New testament by calling man made buildings ‘churches’.
“The order of worship includes threefold structure: (1) singing, (2) the sermon, and (3) closing prayer or song. This order of worship is viewed as sacrosanct in the eyes of many present-day Christians. But why? Again, it is due simply to the titanic power of tradition. And that tradition has set the Sunday morning order of worship in concrete … never to be moved”.
“As Will Durant, author of The Story of Civilization put it, Pagan isles remained in the spreading Christian sea. This was a tragic shift from the primitive simplicity that the church of Jesus Christ first knew”.
“We so easily forget that the early Christians turned the world upside down without them”.
“Our study of the liturgical history of the Lutheran (sixteenth century), Reformed (sixteenth century), Puritans (sixteenth century), Methodists (eighteenth century), Frontier-Revivalists (eighteenth to nineteenth centuries), and Pentecostals (twentieth century) uncovers one inescapable point: For the last five hundred years, the Protestant order of worship has undergone minimal change”. Pg.73 .
“As one author put it, ‘The Reformers accepted in substance the ancient Catholic pattern of worship…the basic structures of their services were almost universally taken from the late medieval orders of various sorts'”. pg 74
“In the end, then, the Reformers reformed the Catholic liturgy only slightly. Their main contribution was in changing the central focus. In the words of one scholar, ‘Catholicism increasingly followed the path of the (pagan) cults in making a rite the center of its activities, and Protestantism followed the path of the synagogue in placing the book at the center of it’s services’. Unfortunately, neither Catholics nor Protestants were successful in allowing Jesus Christ to be the center and head of their gatherings. Nor were they successful at liberating and unleashing the body of Christ to minister one to another in the gathering, as the New Testament envisions”. pg 74
“Because of the Reformation the Bible replaced the Eucharist and the Pastor replaced the priest. But there is still a directing of God’s people, rendering them as silent spectators. The centrality of the Author of the book was never restored. Hence, the Reformers dramatically failed to put their finger on the nerve of the original problem: a clergy-led worship service attended by a passive laity. It is not surprising, then, that the Reformers viewed themselves as reformed Catholics”. pg. 74
“Not only is the traditional order of service unscriptural and heavily influenced by paganism (which runs contrary to what is often preached from the pulpit), it does not lead to the spiritual growth God intended”. pg 75
“The Protestant order of worship represses mutual participation and growth of Christian community. It puts a choke hold on the functioning of the body of Christ by silencing its members. There is absolutely no room for anyone to give a word of exhortation, share an insight, start or introduce a song, or spontaneously lead a prayer. You are forced to be a muted, staid pew holder! You are prevented from being enriched by the other members of the body as well as being able to enrich them yourself”. pg 75
The Protestant order of worship strangles the headship of Jesus Christ. The entire service is directed by one person. You are limited to the knowledge, gifting, and experience of one member of the body- the Pastor. Where is the freedom for our Lord Jesus to speak through his body at will? Where in the liturgy may God give a brother or sister a word to share with the whole congregation? The order of worship allows for no such thing. Jesus Christ has no freedom to express Himself through His body at his discretion. He too is rendered a passive spectator”. pg 76
“Every Sunday you attend the service to be bandaged and recharged like all the other wounded soldiers. Far to often, however, the bandaging and the recharging never takes place. The reason is quite simple. The New Testament never links sitting through an ossified ritual that we mislabel “church” as having anything to do with spiritual transformation. We grow by functioning, not by passively watching and listening”. pg 77
“Let’s face it. The Protestant order of worship is largely unscriptural, impractical, and unspiritual. It has no analog in the New Testament. Rather, it finds its roots in the culture of fallen man. It rips at the heart of primitive Christianity, which was informal and free of ritual. Five centuries after the Reformation, the Protestant order of worship still varies little from Catholic Mass-a Religious ritual that is a fusion of pagan and Judaistic elements” pg. 77
“In fact, when the church functions as she should, she is the greatest evangelism known to humankind. When God’s people are living in authentic community, their lives together are a sign to the world of God’s coming reign”. pg. 82
“Remove the sermon and you have eliminated the most important source of spiritual nourishment for countless numbers of believers (so it is thought). Yet the stunning reality is that today’s sermon has no root in Scripture. Rather, it was borrowed from pagan culture, nursed and adopted into the Christian faith”. pg. 86
“The New Testament letters show that ministry of God’s Word came from the entire church in their regular gatherings. From Romans 12: 6-8, 15: 14, 1 Corinthians 14:26, and Colossians 3:16, we see that it included teaching, exhortation, prophecy, singing, and admonishment. This “every-member” functioning was also conversational (1 Corinthians 14:29) and marked by interruptions (1 14:30). Equally so, the exhortation of the local elders were normally impromptu.
In Short, the contemporary sermon delivered for Christians consumption is foreign to both Old and New Testaments. There is nothing in Scripture to indicate it’s existence in the early Christian gatherings”. pg. 88
“The Christian sermon was borrowed from the pagan pool of Greek culture”! pg. 89
“The sermon was conceived in the womb of Greek rhetoric. It was born into the Christian community when pagans-turned-Christians began to bring their oratorical styles of speaking into the church. By the third century, it became common for Christian leaders to deliver a sermon. By the fourth century it became the norm”. pg.101
“Nevertheless, despite the fact that the contemporary sermon does not have a shred of biblical merit to support it’s existence, it continues to be uncritically admired in the eyes of most present-day Christians. It has become so entrenched in the Christian mind that most Bible-believing pastors and Laymen fail to see that they are affirming and perpetuating an unscriptural practice out of sheer tradition. The sermon has become permanently embedded in a complex organizational structure that is far removed from the first-century church life”. pg. 102
“The first-century church planters had a deep and profound revelation(or insight) of Jesus Christ. They knew him, and they knew him well. He was their life, their breath, and their reason for living. They, in turn, imparted that same revelation to the churches they planted. John 1: 1-3 is a good example of this dynamic .
Paul of Tarsus preached a message of Christ that was so profound that it caused immoral, blood-drinking pagans to become full-fledged Christians in love with Jesus Christ in just a few short months. (These new believers made up the churches of Pisidian, Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea (Acts13-17). Paul shared the depths of Christ with them in such a way that they knew that they were holy in His eyes and that they could know Him internally, for Christ indwelt them. This profound, personal understanding of the indwelling Christ affected how they gathered together and what they did in those gatherings.
Furthermore, Paul typically spent several months with these new converts then left them on their own for long periods of time, sometimes years. And when he returned, they were still gathering together, still loving one another, and still following their Lord.
What kind of gospel did he preach to cause this kind of remarkable effect? He called it “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8) To put it another way, he submerged them in a revelation of Jesus Christ”. pg.103
“THE PASTOR. He is the fundamental figure of the Protestant faith. So prevailing is the pastor in the minds of most Christians that he is often better known, more highly praised, and more heavily relied upon than Jesus Christ himself!
Remove the pastor and most Protestant churches would be thrown into a panic. Remove the pastor, and Protestantism as we know it would die. The pastor is the dominating focal point, mainstay, and centerpiece of the contemporary church. He is the embodiment of Protestant Christianity”. pg. 106
“With the fall came an implicit desire in people to have a physical leader to bring them to God. For this reason, human societies throughout history have consistently created a special caste of revered Religious leaders. The medicine man, the shaman, the rhapsodist, the miracle worker, the witch doctor, the soothsayer, the wise man, and the priest have all been with us since Adam’s blunder. And this person is always marked by special training, special garb, a special vocabulary, and special way of life”. pg.108
“Up until the second century, the church has no official leadership. That it had leaders is without dispute. But leadership was unofficial in the sense that there were no religious “offices” or sociological slots to fill. New Testament scholarship makes this abundantly clear.
In this regard, the first-century churches were an oddity indeed. They were religious groups without priests, temple, or sacrifice. The Christians themselves led the church under Christ’s direct headship. Leaders were organic, untitled, and were recognized by their service and spiritual maturity rather than by a title or an office.
Among the flock were the elders(shepherds or overseers). These men all had equal standing. There was no hierarchy among them. Also present were extra-local workers who planted churches. These were called the “sent ones” or apostles. But they did not take up residency in the churches for which they cared. Nor did they control them. The vocabulary of the New Testament leadership allows no pyramidal structures. It is rather a language of horizontal relationships that includes exemplary action”. pg.110
“Because the presbyters were the ones administering the Lord’s Supper, they began to be called priests. More startling, the bishop came to be regarded as the high priest who could forgive sins! All of these trends obscured the New Testament reality that all believers are priests unto God.
By the fourth century, this graded hierarchy dominated the Christian faith. The clergy caste was now cemented. At the head of the church stood the bishop. Under him was the college of presbyters. Under them stood the deacons. And under all of them were the Laymen. One-bishop rule became the accepted form of church government throughout the Roman Empire. (During this time, certain churches began to exercise authority over other churches-thus broadening the hierarchical structure)”. pg.115
“Strikingly, only three passages in the New Testament tell us that elders were publicly recognized. Elders were acknowledged in the churches in Galatia (Acts 14: 23). Paul had Timothy acknowledge elders in Ephesus (1 Timothy 3:1ff). He also told Titus to recognize them in the churches in Crete (Titus 1:5ff).
The word ordain (KJV) in these passages does not mean to place into office. It rather carries the idea of endorsing, affirming, and showing forth what has already been happening. It also conveys the thought of blessing. Public recognition of elders and ministries was typically accompanied by the laying on of hands by apostolic workers. (In the case of workers being sent out, this was done by the church or the elders).
In the first century, the laying on of hands merely meant the endorsement or affirmation of function, not the installment into an office or the giving of special status. Regrettably, it came to mean the latter in the late second and early third centuries.
During the third century, ordination took on an entirely different meaning. It was a formalized Christian rite. By the fourth century, the ceremony of ordination was embellished by the symbolic garments and solemn ritual. Ordination produced an ecclesiastical caste that usurped the believing priesthood.
From where did Christians get their pattern of ordination? They patterned their ordination ceremony after the Roman custom of appointing men to civil office. The entire process, down to the very words, came straight from the Roman civic world”. pgs.124-125
“The contemporary practice of ordination creates a special caste of Christian. Whether it be the priest in Catholicism or the pastor in the Protestantism, the result is still the same: The most important ministry is restricted to a few”special” believers.
Such an idea is as damaging as it is nonscriptural. The New Testament nowhere limits preaching, baptizing, or distributing the Lord’s Supper to the “ordained”. Eminent scholar James D. G. Dunn put it best when he said that the clergy-laity tradition has done more to undermine New Testament authority than most heresies.
Since church office could only be hold through the rite of ordination, the power to ordain became the crucial issue in holding religious authority. The biblical content was lost. And proof-texting methods were used to justify the clergy/laity hierarchy. Perhaps the best-known example is the early Catholics’ use of Matthew 16 to justify the creation of a papal system and the doctrine of apostolic succession. The result: Ordinary believers, generally uneducated and ignorant, were at the mercy of a professional clergy”. pg.127
“The New Testament word for minister is diakonos. It means ‘servant’. But this word has been distorted because men have professionalized the ministry. We have taken the word minister and equated it with the pastor, with no scriptural justification whatsoever. In like manner, we have mistakenly equated preaching and ministry with pulpit, sermon, again without biblical justification”. pg.136
“The unscriptural clergy/laity distinction has done untold harm to the body of Christ. It has divided the believing community into first and second-class Christians. The clergy/laity dichotomy perpetuates an awful falsehood-namley, that some Christians are more privileged than others to serve the Lord.
The one-man ministry is entirely foreign to the New Testament, yet we embrace it while it suffocates our functioning. We are living stones, not dead ones. However, the pastoral office has transformed us into stones that do not breathe.
Permit us to get personal. We believe the pastoral office has stolen your right to function as a full member of Christ’s body. It has distorted the reality of the body, making the pastor a giant mouth and transforming you into a tiny ear. It has rendered you a mute spectator who is proficient at taking sermon notes and passing an offering plate.
But that is not all. The modern-day pastoral office has overthrown the main thrust of the letter to the Hebrews-the ending of old priesthood. It has made ineffectual the teaching of 1 Corinthians 12-14, that every member has both the right and the privilege to minister in a church meeting. It has voided the message of 1 Peter 2 that every brother and sister is a functioning priest”. pg. 136
“But there is something more. The contemporary pastorate rivals the functioning headship of Christ in his church. It illegitimately holds the unique place of centrality and headship among God’s people, a place that is reserved for only one Person-the Lord Jesus. Jesus Christ is the only head over a church and the final word to it. By his office, the pastor displaces and supplants Christ’s headship by setting himself up as the church’s human head”. pg. 137
“The contemporary pastor is the most unquestioned fixture in the twenty-first century Christianity. Yet not a strand of Scripture supports the existence of this office.
Rather, the present-day pastor was born out of the single-bishop rule first spawned by the Ignatius and Cyprian. The bishop evolved into the local presbyter. In the Middle Ages, the presbyter grew into the the Catholic priest. During the Reformation, he was transformed into the “preacher”, “the minister”, and finally “the pastor”-the person upon whom all of the Protestantism hangs. To boil it down to one sentence: The Protestant pastor is nothing more than a slightly reformed Catholic priest. (Again, we are speaking of the office and not the individual.)
Catholic priests had seven duties at the time of the Reformation: preaching; the sacraments; prayers for the flock; a disciplined, godly life; church rites; supporting the poor; and visiting the sick. The Protestant pastor takes upon himself all of these responsibilities-plus he sometimes blesses civic events.
The famed poet John Milton put it best when he said, “New presbyter is but old priest writ large!” In other words, the contemporary pastor is but an old priest written in large letters! ” pg. 141
“Leading up to the sermon, those who “lead worship” select the songs that are to be sung. They begin those songs. They decide how those songs are to be sung. And they decide when those songs are over. Those sitting in the audience in no way, shape, or form lead the singing. They are led by someone else who is often part of the clerical staff-or who has similar stature.
This is in stark contrast to the first-century way. In the early church, worship and singing were in the hands of all of God’s people. The church herself led her own songs. Singing and leading songs was a corporate affair, not a professional event led by specialists”. pg. 158
“In 1962, a group of dissatisfied British church musicians in Dunblane, Scotland, tried to revitalize traditional Christian songs. Led by Congregational minister Erik Routley, these artists were influenced by Bob Dylan and Sydney Carter. George Shorney Jr.of Hope Publishing Company brought their new style to the United States. These new Christian hymns were a reform, but not a revolution. The revolution came when rock and roll was adapted into Christian music with the coming of the Jesus movement. This reform set the stage for the revolutionary musical changes to take root in the Christian church through Calvay Chapel and the Vineyard.
The origin of the worship team goes back to the founding Calvary Chapel in 1965. Chuck Smith, the founder of the denomination, started a ministry for hippies and surfers. Smith welcomed the newly converted hippies to retune their guitars and play their now redeemed music in church. He gave the counterculture a stage for their music in church .He gave the counterculture a stage for their music-allowing them to play Sunday night performances and concerts. The new musical forms began to be called “praise and worship”. As the Jesus movement began to flourish, Smith founded the record company Maranatha Music in the early 1970s. It’s goal was to distribute the songs of these young artists.
In due time, the guitar replaced the organ as the central instrument that led worship in the Protestant church. Although patterned after the rock concert of secular culture, the worship team has become as common as the pulpit”. pg. 166
“I (Frank) am no theoretician. For almost twenty years I have gathered with churches where every member has been trained to start a song spontaneously. Imagine: Every brother and sister free to lead songs under the headship of Jesus Christ-even to write his or her own songs and bring them to the meeting for all to learn. I have met with numerous churches that have experienced this glorious dynamic. Someone starts a song and everyone joins in. Then someone else begins another song, and so worship continues without long pauses and with no visible leader present.
This is exactly how the first-century Christians worshipped, by the way. Yet it is a rare experience in the modern-day institutional church. The good news is that it is possible and available for all who wish to experience Christ’s headship through song in a church meeting. The singing in such churches is intensely corporate rather than individualistic and subjective”. pg 167
“Tithing is mentioned only four times in the New Testament. But none of these instances apply to Christians. Tithing belonged to the Old Testament era where a taxation system was needed to support the poor and a special priesthood that had been set apart to minister to the Lord. With the coming of Jesus Christ, there has been a “change of the law”-the old has been “set aside” and rendered obsolete by the new (Hebrews 7:12-18, 8:13
We are all priests now-free to function in God’s house. The law, the old priesthood, and the tithe have all been crucified. There is now no Temple curtain, no Temple tax and no special priesthood that stands between God and man. You have been set free from the bondage of tithing and from the obligation to support the umbilical clergy system. May you, like the first-century Macedonian Christians, give freely, out of a cheerful heart, without guilt, religious obligation, or manipulation… generously helping those in need (2 Corinthians 8:1-4; 9:6-7)”. pg. 183
“In the early church, converts were baptized immediately upon believing. One scholar says of baptism and conversion, “They belong together. Those who repented and believed the Word were baptized. That was the invariable pattern, so far as we know.” Another writes “At the birth of the church, converts were baptized with little or no delay.”
In the first century, water baptism was the outward confession of a person’s faith. But more than that, it was the way someone came to the Lord. For this reason, the confession of baptism is vitally linked to the exercise of saving faith. So much so that the New Testament writers often use baptism in place of the word faith and link it to being “saved”. This is because baptism was the early Christian’s initial confession of faith in Christ.
Baptism accompanied the acceptance of the gospel. For example, when Lydia heard Paul preach the gospel, she believed and was immediately baptized with her household (Acts 16:14-15). In the same way, when Paul led the Philippian jailor and his household to the Lord, they were immediately baptized (Acts 16:30-33). This was the New Testament pattern (see Acts 2:41, 8:12, 35-37). Baptism marked a complete break with the past and full entrance into Christ and His church. Baptism was simultaneously an act of faith as well as an expression of faith.” pgs. 188-189.
“Through our tradition, we have evacuated the true meaning and power behind water baptism. Properly conceived and practiced, water baptism is the believer’s initial confession of faith before men, demons, angels, and God. Baptism is a visible sign that depicts our separation from the world, our death with Christ, the burial of our old man, the death of the old creation, and the washing of the Word of God.
Water baptism is the New Testament form of conversion-initiation. It is God’s idea. To replace it with the human-invented sinners prayer is to deplete baptism of its God-given testimony.
In the same vein , the Lord’s Supper, when separated from its proper context of full meal, turns into a strange, pagan-like rite.The supper has become an empty ritual officiated by a clergyman, rather than a shared-life experience enjoyed by the church. It has become a morbid religious exercise, rather than a joyous festival-a stale individualistic ceremony, rather than a meaningful cooperate event.
As one scholar put it, “It is not in doubt that the Lord’s Supper began as a family meal or meal of friends in a private house… the Lord’s Supper moved from being a real meal into being a symbolic meal…the Lord’s Supper moved from bare simplicity to elaborate slender…the celebration of the Lord’s Supper moved from being a lay function to a priestly function. In the New Testament itself, there is no indication that it was the special privilege or duty of anyone to lead the worshipping fellowship in the Lord’s Supper”. pgs 196-197
“In the minds of most Christians, formal Christians education qualifies a person to do the Lord’s work. Unless a Christian has graduated from Bible College or seminary, he or she is viewed as being a “para”-minister. A pseudo Christian worker. Such a person cannot preach, teach, baptize, or administer the Lord’s Supper since he or she has not been formally trained to do such things…right?
The idea that a Christian worker must attend Bible college or seminary to be legitimate is deeply ingrained-so much so that when people feel a “call” of God on their lives, they are conditioned to begin hunting for a Bible College or seminary to attend
Such thinking fits poorly with the early Christian mind-set. Bible colleges, seminaries, and even Sunday Schools were utterly absent from the early church. All are human innovations that came hundreds of years after the Apostles’ death.
How, then, were Christian workers trained in the first century if they did not go to a religious school? Unlike today’s ministerial training, first-century training was hands-on, rather than academic. It was a matter of apprenticeship, rather than of intellectual learning. It was aimed primarily at the spirit, rather than at the frontal lobe.
In the first century, those called to the Lord’s work were trained in two ways:(1) They learned the essentials lessons of Christian ministry by living a shared life with a group of Christians. In other words, they were trained by experiencing body life as nonleaders. (2) They learned the Lord’s work under the tutelage of an older, seasoned worker.” pgs.199-200
“The teaching of the New Testament is that God is Spirit, and as such, He is known by revelation ( spiritual insight) to one’s human spirit. Reason and intellect can cause us to know about God. And they help us to communicate what we know. But they fall short in giving us spiritual revelation. The intellect is not the gateway for knowing the Lord deeply. Neither are emotions. In the words of A.W.Tozer: “Divine truth is of the nature of the spirit and for that reason can be only by spiritual revelation…God’s thoughts belong to the world of spirit, man’s to the world of intellect, and while spirit can embrace intellect, the human intellect can never comprehend spirit.
…Man by reason cannot know God; he can only know about God.
… Man’s reason is a fine instrument and useful within its field. It was not given as an organ by which to know God.” pg. 206
“Instead of offering the cure to the ills of the church, our theological schools worsen them by assuming ( and even defending) all of the unscriptural practices that produce them.
The words of one pastor sum up the problem nicely: “I came through the whole system with the best education that evangelicalism had to offer-yet I really didn’t receive the training that I needed… seven years years of higher education in top-rated evangelical schools didn’t prepare me to (1) do ministry and (2) be a leader. I began to analyze why I could preach a great sermon and people afterwards would shake my hand and say, ‘Great Sermon, Pastor.’ But these were the very people who were struggling with self-esteem, beating their spouses, struggling as workaholics, succumbing to their addictions. Their lives weren’t changing. I had to ask myself why this great knowledge I was presenting didn’t move from their
heads to their hearts and their lives. And I began to realize that breakdown in the church was actually based on what we learned in seminary. We were taught that if you just give people information, that’s enough!” pg. 218
“WHY IS IT THAT WE CHRISTIANS can follow the same rituals every Sunday without ever noticing that they are at odds with the New Testament? The incredible power of tradition has something to do with it As we have seen, the church has often been influenced by the surrounding culture, seemingly unaware of it’s negative effects. At other times, it has, quite properly, recognized overt threats- such as heretical teachings about the person and divinity of Jesus Christ. But in an effort to combat those threats, it has moved away from the organic structure that God wrote into the church’s DNA .
But there is something else- something more fundamental that most Christians are completely unaware of. It concerns our New Testament. The problem is not in what the New Testament says. The problem is in how we approach it.
The approach most commonly used among contemporary Christians when studying the Bible is called “proof texting”. The origin of proof texting goes back to the 1590s. A group of men called Protestant scholastics took the teachings of the Reformers and systematized them according to the rules of Aristotelian logic.
The Protestant scholastics held that not only is the Scripture the Word of God, but every part of it is the Word of God in and of itself-irrespective of context. This set the stage for the idea that if we lift a verse out of the bible, it is true in it’s own right and can be used to prove a doctrine or a practice.
When John Darby emerged in the mid-1800s, he built a theology based on this approach. Darby raised proof texting to an art form. In fact, it was Darby who gave fundamentalist and evangelical Christians a good deal of their presently accepted teachings. All of them are built on the proof-texting method. Proof texting, then, became the common way that we contemporary Christians approach the Bible.
As a result, we Christians rarely, if ever, get to see the New Testament as a whole. Rather, we are served up a dish of fragmented thoughts that are drawn together by means of fallen human logic. The fruit of this approach is that we have strayed far afield from the practice of the New Testament church. Yet we still believe we are being biblical”. pgs 222-223
“Seminaries and Bible college students alike are rarely if ever given a panoramic view of the free-flowing story of the early church with the New Testament books arranged in chronological order. As a result, most Christians are completely out of touch with the social and historical events that lay behind each of the New Testament letters Instead, they have turned the New Testament into a manual that can be wielded to prove any point. Chopping the Bible up into fragments makes this relatively easy to pull off.
.We Christians have been taught to approach the Bible in one of eight ways. See how many that apply to you, you can tick off with a pencil:
.You look for verses that inspire you. Upon finding such verses, you either highlight, memorize, meditate upon, or put them on your refrigerator door.
.You look for verses that tell you what God has promised so that you can confess it in faith and thereby obligate the Lord to do what you want.
.You look for verses that tell you what God commands you to do
.You look for verses that you can quote to scare the devil out of his wits or resist him in the hour of temptation..
.You look for verses that will prove your particular doctrine so that you can slice and dice your theological sparring partner into biblical ribbons. (Because of the proof-texting method, a vast wasteland of Christianity behaves as if the mere citation of some random, decontextualized verses of Scripture ends all discussion on virtually any subject).
.You look for verses in the bible to control and /or correct others.
. You look for verses that “preach” well and make good sermon material. (This is an ongoing addiction for many who preach and teach).
.You somethimes close your eyes, flip open the bible randomly, stick your finger on a page, read what the text says, and then take what you have read as a personal “word” from the Lord.
Now look at the list again.Which of these approaches have you used? Look again: Notice how each is highly individualistic. All of them put you, the individual Christian, at the center. Each approach ignores the fact that most of the New Testament was written to corporate bodies of people (churches), not to individuals.
But that’s not all. Each of those approaches is built on isolated proof texting. Each treats the New Testament like a manual and blinds us to its real message. It is no wonder that we can approvingly nod our heads at paid pastors, the Sunday morning order of worship, sermons, church buildings, religious dress, choirs, worship teams, seminaries, and a passive priesthood all without wincing.
We have been taught to approach the Bible like a jigsaw puzzle. Most of us have never been told the entire story that lies behind the letters that Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude wrote. We have been taught chapters and verses, not the historical context.
For instance, have you ever been given the story behind Paul’s letter to the Galatians? Before nodding, see if you can answer these questions off the top of your head: Who were the Galatians? What were their issues? When and why did Paul write to them? What happened just before Paul penned his Galatian treatise? Where was he when he wrote it? What provoked him to write the letter? And where in Acts do you find the historical context for his letter? All of these background matters are indispensable for understanding what our New Testament is about. Without them, we simply cannot understand the Bible clearly or properly”. pgs. 229-231
“What do we mean by first-century styled church? It is group of people who know how to experience Jesus Christ and express Him in a meeting without any human officiation. Such a group of people can function organically together as a body when they are left on their own after the church planter leaves them. ( This does not mean that church planters never return. There are many times when they are needed to help the church. But after planting a church, church planters should be absent more than they are present.)
The one who plants a first-century styled church leaves that church without a pastor, elders, a music leader, a Bible facilitator, or a Bible teacher. If that church is planted well, those believers will know how to sense and follow the living, breathing headship of Jesus Christ in a meeting. They will know how to let Him invisibly lead their gatherings. They will bring their own songs, they will write their own songs, they minister out of what Christ has shown them-with no human leader present! What is described here is not an armchair philosophy. I (Frank) have worked with churches that fit this bill.
To equip people to do that takes a lot more than opening up your house and saying, “Come, let’s have Bible study”. pg. 234
“Unlike Christians today, the early Christians did not share Christ out of guilt, command, or duty. They shared Him because He was pouring out of them, and they could not help it! It was a spontaneous, organic thing-born out of life, not guilt.” pg.237
“We do well to pay attention to the way that churches were raised up in the first century. I believe that scripture holds for us enduring principles on this score. If you count all the churches mentioned in the New Testament, you’ll find about thirty-five. Everyone of them was planted or aided by a traveling church planter who preached only Christ. There were no exceptions. The church was raised up as a result of the apostolic presentation of Jesus Christ.” pg. 238
“Jesus was never a rabble-rouser nor a ranting rebel (Matthew 12:19-20). Yet He constantly defied the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees. And He did not do so by accident, but with great deliberation. The Pharisees were those who, for the sake of the “truth” as they saw I, tried to extinguish the truth they could not see. This explains why there was always a blizzard of controversy between the ‘tradition of the elders’ and the acts of Jesus.
Someone once said that ‘a rebel attempts to change the past; a revolutionary attempts to change the future’. Jesus Christ brought drastic change to the world. Change to man’s view of God …. Change to men’s view of women. Our Lord came to bring radical change to the old order of things, replacing it with a new order. He came to bring forth a new covenant – a new Kingdom – a new birth – a new race – a new species – a new new culture – and a new civilization.
As you read through the Gospels, behold your Lord, the Revolutionary. Watch him throw the Pharisees into a panic by intentionally flaunting their conventions. Numerous times Jesus healed on the Sabbath day, flatly breaking their cherished traditions. If the Lord wanted to placate His enemies, He could have waited until Sunday or Monday to heal some of these people. Instead, he deliberately healed on the Sabbath, knowing full well it would make His opponents livid.
This pattern runs deep. In one instance, Jesus healed a blind man by mixing clay with spittle and putting it in the man’s eyes. Such an act was in direct defiance of the Jewish ordinance that prohibited healing on the Sabbath by mixing mud with Spittle! Yet your Lord intentionally shattered this tradition publicly and with absolute resolve .Watch Him eat food with unwashed hands under the judgmental gaze of the Pharisees, again intentionally defying their fossilized tradition.
In Jesus we have a man who refused to bow to the pressures of religious conformity. A man who preached a revolution. A man who would not tolerate hypocrisy. A man who was not afraid to provoke those who suppressed the liberating gospel He brought to set men free. A man who did not mind evoking anger in His enemies, causing them to gird their thighs for battle”. pgs 244- 246
“For most Christians, this is a side of Jesus Christ they have never known before. Yet we believe it explains why exposing what is wrong with the contemporary church so that Christ’s body can fulfill God’s ultimate intention is so critical. It is simply an expression of our Lord’s revolutionary nature. The dominating aim of the nature is to put you and me at the center of the beating heart of God. To put you and me in the core of His eternal purpose – a purpose for which everything was created.
The early church understood that purpose. They not only understood God’s passion for His Church, they lived it out. And what did such body life look like?
- The early Christians were intensely Christ-centered. Jesus Christ was their pulse beat. He was their life, their breath, and their central point of reference. He was the object of their worship, the subject of their songs, and the content of their discussion and vocabulary. The New Testament church made the Lord Jesus Christ Central and supreme in all things.
- The New Testament church had no fixed order of worship. The early Christians gathered in open-participatory meetings where all believers shared their experience of Christ, exercised their gifts, and sought to edify one another. No one was a spectator. All were given the privilege and the responsibility to participate. The purpose of these church meetings was twofold. It was for the mutual edification of the body. It was also to make visible the Lord Jesus Christ through the every-member functioning of His body. The early church meetings were not religious “services”. They were informal gatherings that were permeated with an atmosphere of freedom, spontaneity, and joy. The meetings belonged to Jesus Christ and to the church; they did not serve as platform for any particular ministry or gifted person.
- The New Testament church lived as a face-to-face community. While the early Christians gathered for corporate worship and mutual edification, the church did not exist to merely meet once or twice a week. The New Testament believers lived a shared life. They cared for one another outside of scheduled meetings. They were, in the very real sense of the word, family.
- Christianity was the first and only religion the world has ever known that was void of ritual, clergy, and sacred buildings. For the first 300 years of the Church’s existence, Christians gathered in homes. On special occasions, Christian workers would sometimes make use of larger facilities (like Solomon’s Porch) {John 10:23, Acts 3:11} and the Hall of Tyrannus {Acts 19:9}. But they had no concept of a scared edifice nor of a spending large amounts of money on buildings. Nor would they ever call a building a “church” or the “house of God.” The only sacred building the early Christians knew was the one not made with human hands.
- The New Testament church did not have a clergy. The Catholic priest and the Protestant pastor were completely unknown. The church had traveling apostolic workers who planted and nurtured churches. But these workers were not viewed as being part of the a special clergy caste. They were part of the body of Christ, and they served the churches (not the other way around). Every Christian possessed different gifts and different functions, but only Jesus Christ had the exclusive right to exercise authority over his people. No man had that right. Eldering and Shepherding were just two of those gifts. Elders and Shepherds were ordinary Christians with certain gifts. They were not special offices. And they did not monopolize the ministry of the church meetings. They were simply seasoned Christians who naturally cared for the members of the church during times of crisis and provided oversight for the whole assembly.
- Decision making in the New Testament church fell upon the shoulders of the whole assembly. Traveling church planters would sometimes give input and direction. But ultimately, the whole church made decisions under the lordship of Jesus Christ. It was the church’s responsibility to find the Lord’s mind together and act accordingly.
- The New Testament church was organic, not organizational. It was not welded together by putting people into offices, creating programs, constructing rituals, and developing a top-down hierarchy or chain-of-command structure. The church was a living, breathing organism. It was born, it would grow, and it naturally produced all of what was in its DNA. That would include all the gifts, ministries, and functions of the body of Christ. In the eyes of God, the church is a beautiful woman. The bride of Christ. She was a colony from heaven, not a man-made organization from earth.
- Tithing was not a practice of the New Testament church. The early Christians used their funds to support the poor among them, as well as the poor in the world. They also supported traveling itinerant church planters so that the gospel could be spread and churches could be raised up in other lands. They gave according to their ability, not out of guilt, duty, or compulsion. Pastor/clergy salaries were unheard of. Every Christian in the church was a priest, a minister, and a functioning member of the body. (elders who labour in the word and doctrine to feed and equip Christ’s sheep are to be thought worthy of “double honour” which means sufficient financial compensation – 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 Corinthians 9:1-14, etc.)
- Baptism was the outward expression of Christian conversion. When the early Christians led people to the Lord, they immediately baptized them in water as a testimony to their new position. The Lord’s Supper was an ongoing expression whereby the early Christians reaffirmed their faith in Jesus Christ and their oneness with His body. The Supper was a full meal which the church enjoyed together in the spirit and atmosphere of joy and celebration. It was fellowship of the body of Christ, not a token ritual or a religious rite. And it was never officiated by a clergy or special priesthood.
- The early Christians did not build Bible schools or seminars to train young workers. Christians workers were educated and trained by older workers in the context of church life. They learned “on the job.” Jesus provided the initial model for this “on-the-job” training when He mentioned the Twelve. Paul duplicated it when he trained young Gentile workers Ephesus.
- The early Christians did not divide themselves into various denominations. They understood their oneness in Christ and expressed it visibly in every city. To their minds, there was only one church per city ( even though it may have met in many different homes throughout the locale). If you were a Christian in the first century, you belonged to that one Church. The unity of the spirit was well guarded. Denominating themselves ( “I am of Paul,” ‘I am of Peter,’ ‘I am of Apollos’) was regarded as sectarian and divisive (see 1 Corinthians 1:12).
We believe this is God’s vision for every church. In fact, we have written this book for one reason: to make room for the absolute centrality, supremacy, and headship of Christ in His church. Fortunately, more and more Revolutionaries today are catching that vision. They recognize that what is needed is a revolution within the Christian faith-a complete upheaval of those Christian practices that are contrary to biblical principles. We must begun all over again, on the right foundation. Anything less will prove defective.
And so our hope as you finish this book is threefold. First, we hope that you will begin asking questions about the church as you presently know it. How much of it is truly biblical? How much of it expresses the absolute headship of Jesus Christ? How much of it allows the members of His body the freedom to function? Second, we hope you will share this book with ever Christian you know so they too can be challenged by its message. And third, we hope you will pray seriously about what your response should be to that message.
If you are a disciple of the Revolutionary from Nazareth… the radical Messiah who lays His axe to the root…you must eventually ask a specific question. It is the same question that was asked of our Lord’s disciples while He walked the earth. That question is: “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?” (Matt 15:2)”. pgs 246-250
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Apostasy
SATAN’S SEMINARIANS [podcast]
Seminaries are the Invention of Satan
WHEN Jesus declared “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:16), …. was Jesus speaking here of men who “earned” and paid big money for a degree, a piece of paper from a “higher learning” institution of mere men? No. Read John 15:1-16 and you will see that Jesus alone can choose, call, prepare, and ordain a man to be fruitful in His work. The LORD’s work is to choose, to call, prepare, ordain, purge, and to send for the divine purpose of “fruit …. more fruit… and much fruit” to be born in the lives of those men He is using.
It should be noted that in God’s Word, where the specific qualifications for elders are given, not one of those descriptions includes having a degree from a higher learning institution. See 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
Seminaries originated with the catholic church—which is where the protestants got it. Sad but true. The curse of seminaries continues today. Beware saints. Seminaries are wolf factories. Think about it, the business model, it’s the denominations who have the seminaries. This is to train their prey to uniformly spread heresies and to build church businesses to collect money whereby those denominations are paid fees and a percentage of every dollar collected. Dallas Theological Seminaries forces enrollees from the beginning to sign a contract that avows them to not teach the biblical doctrine of enduring to the end. The eternal security heresy they peddle ensures much busine$$ success.
“Seminaries originated in the 16th century, primarily as a Roman Catholic response to the Reformation to better train priests, with the first established by St. Charles Borromeo in 1563. The term derives from the Latin seminarium (“seed plot” or “plant nursery”), symbolizing the cultivation of spiritual growth and faith.”
Any man who submits his life to a seminary has openly declared that he wants mere sinful men to train him to do God’s work instead of submitting his life to the LORD Himself—as did all the patriarchs, prophets and apostles—not one of them who was seminary trained (as we know such today). Yes the apostle Paul was formally trained BEFORE he was saved and then denounced all of it—all of his formal training after being saved and in preparation to serve the LORD. Read Philippians 3.
Let me get this straight…. You saved me LORD BUT I’m going to trust sinful men to train me at the seminary (Jeremiah 17:5).
God doesn’t send anyone to seminary. He never once sent any of the patriarchs, prophets, or apostles to seminary. “I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6).
Many are led to believe the following lie: “I need to go to seminary if I want to be a preacher, pastor, or in the ministry.” Yes if you want to be just another false prophet, go to seminary. They are wolf factories.
The moment the LORD saves us, we are in His school of the Holy Spirit and Word.
Satan’s centralization of learning, indoctrination: when the source is poisoned, all that flows from that cursed source is poisoned—from the seminaries to the local churches.
YOU HAVE GOD’S WORD, A BIBLE, READ IT FOR YOURSELF.
The question of whether or not we should trust professional clergymen, seminarians and their supposed superior knowledge and understanding.
In Matthew 11:25 , God says that He reveals His truth, truths to even the babes in Christ.
Notice how that “from a child” Timothy knew the “holy scriptures” and the wisdom they give us. Timothy studied and knew and could understand God’s Word as a little “child.” No degreed seminarian needed.
“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17
“Seminaries and Bible colleges absolutely do make men boastful and proud over a fake degree. Jesus calls His people to be servants and nothing more. I also think of Paul when he separated the true disciples from the synagogue because the Jews were in contradiction of the gospel. So he separated them and taught them in the Apostles doctrine (Acts 2:42). He trained them in the whole of the scriptures. And this resulted in the widespread dispersing of the gospel (Acts 19:9-10).” Karen Cochran
Upon saving you, Jesus put His Holy Spirit in you and inducted you into His school of the Holy Ghost and Word (Psalms 119:105). No one needs “Bible college” or “seminary” to read and obey God’s Word (King James Bible). Jesus told no man to “go to Bible college/seminary.” Seminarian and Bible college graduates pridefully boast of their degrees and positions, lording it over others….as if they are superior. Isn’t this where the clergy/laity rankings were furthered? Does this not go diametrically against the teaching of our LORD? Yes it does. See Matthew 20:24-28 and 23:8-12.
Think about it: Seminary trains men to lord it over others, while the preparation for ministry the LORD enacts teaches His elders to go forth as He did —to serve and not to be served (Matthew 20:24-28 and 23:8-12). The whole premise of seminaries is based on a lie—the lie of usurping authority that God never ordained you to have. This further underscores that the author of seminaries is Satan himself. See Isaiah 14:12-15.
“Excellent teaching. Thank you. I think of 2 Timothy 2:21 which tells us how we are made vessels fit for the Master’s use. In that passage nor any other, we don’t see the word seminary. Vessels of honor are purged in the fire of affliction. And sanctified internally by the blood of Christ to bring forth fruit for His glory. This is how we are prepared by the Spirit of God to be used by the Master! No seminary school can do that. It is entirely the work of the Spirit through our ‘obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter: 1:2).” Karen Cochran
Seminaries, seminarians are Satan’s way of controlling the people via their clergy. No group is more famous for this than the Roman religion.
“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.” 2 Peter 2:19
Of the seminarian devils who litter the landscape of the American pulpits, Karen Cochran writes:
“And these apostate churches will only hire these wolves in sheep’s clothing Jesus warned us to beware of (Matthew 7:15). Therefore they don’t get men like the Apostles who gave their whole lives to preaching, warning, and teaching Jesus Christ! See Colossians 1:28. Then they died for the sake of Christ. The seminarian wolves of our day only preach about self, the self-life! They could care less about giving all for the sake of Christ!”
Only the cross, the crucified life, can keep us from sin (Romans 6:7; 1 Corinthians 9:27; 10:12). No amount of knowledge, even the truth, can keep us from sin. The truth of the cross Jesus commanded must be applied, obeyed—or you will not walk nor be with Him (Luke 9:23-24; John 8:31-32). The crucified life is something one will rarely if ever hear in seminaries or out of the mouth of seminarians.
Saints, we must follow Jesus. That’s why we have a Bible that He provided (Luke 4:4). We must cease with our idolatrous fascination with certain schools and men who seem to have a deep understanding of things. The idolatry of mere men will not keep us from living in sin.
Are you personally crucified with Christ?
If not, you ARE living in sin.
“He that is dead (crucified with Christ) is freed from sin.” Romans 6:7
Read Romans 6 each morning and obey God. | The Cross Life
One can have the whole Bible memorized and understand it all, and still die and go to hell. You must walk with Christ—live a crucified life of prayer—or you will perish irrevocably in the flames of eternal damnation. Judas walked with Jesus, he saw the miracles and heard His teachings first hand and died and busted hell wide open. The Truth about Judas
Professionalism is poison. There were no professional pastors in the early church. The seminary system is the factory that creates such business men, frauds (2 Peter 2:1-3).
The modern church world is driven by Satan’s seminarians: WHAT has it produced?
Are you a living, breathing epistle, a disciple of Jesus, or just another modern pharisee, a seminarian-deceived fraud who hides in a building while collecting a salary and misleading people to hell?
NO such thing as an “official” seminarian credentialed pastor or preacher in the early church! Beware. Satan’s seminary system exposed.
Notice how the unchanging LORD worked in Paul after He saved him:
“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, 16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia (the desert), and returned again unto Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.” Galatians 1:15-18
Jesus is the Savior and Sanctifier—the only One who can prepare and ordain a man to ministry (John 15:16). Only three years later did Paul consult with men—AFTER God had spoken directly to him. The apostles were saved and taught of God, not mere sinful men.
“Despite God’s word commanding men not to boast in their wisdom, and despite being told that ‘not many wise according to the flesh’ are called, today’s evangelical landscape is replete with scribes and pharisees whose default question is, ‘By what authority do you do these things?’ They put their stock in how many credit hours they have obtained at such and such a seminary. Seminary credentials never qualified a man for God’s service, nor does a lack of “formal training” nullify what God approves. Indeed, God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27). When God calls anyone to a particular task, it matters not if others approve.” Servus Christi
YOU going trust a sinful seminarian or the only Savior? Hell awaits.
Many today, upon sensing a calling, go to men to be prepared, to seminary. Consequently, they are deceived and then go forth to deceive others (2 Timothy 3:7).
- The early church – Acts: On fire, full of the Holy Spirit had no trained seminarians.
- Today’s apostate, lukewarm church world: Run into the ground by vatican corrupted, hireling seminarians.
The fruit of the modern churches are Clear proof that Satan is at the root of the seminarians who’ve driven them into apostasy!
“Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.” Jeremiah 48:10
Joel Nelson writes:
“It’s time to get rid of the corrupted clutter of the money-changing seminarian clergy wolves and get back to true, undiluted, uncorrupted, pure worship and fellowship (Acts 2:42-47). Ask yourself: WHAT has the seminary-driven church building based system ever produced to glorify Christ? Do those who attend look like the on-fire-for-Jesus, Holy Ghost filled believers you read about in the books of Acts? Hardly.”
Protestant evangelical seminarians are a fraternal order of vatican-trained soul thieves. They control what is and what is not said to the people. They purposely withhold the truth.
Most modern pastors are in darkness and that’s witnessed by the simple fact that they use and promote Satan’s false “bibles.”
Seminarian “pastors” do not follow Christ but rather they follow what men and devils taught them in seminary.
God is Calling all Seminarian and Bible College Students, Graduates to Repent
Attention seminarian or Bible College student, graduate: Not only does seminary not prepare you to be used of God, it gives you many things to unlearn and costs you much more than just a lot of wasted money. The ONE who saved you (if you are in fact saved) is the only ONE who can sanctify and prepare you to serve HIM. Seminary is at its root, apostasy, a departing from God to mere sinful men. If you claim to be born again and yet run to men to prepare you, there should be great concern (Galatians 1:16-17). PLAIN PROOF: Today’s apostate modern so-called “churches” become as they are – ichabod – by way of the jesuit-trained seminarian hirelings who drove them headlong into that apostasy. Seminiarian Apostasy Busted and Exposed!
Seminarian led churches are designed to create counterfeits. This was Satan’s objective and it’s worked! Run for your life!
Going to seminary is a deliberate work of the flesh—to trust mere sinful men instead of the One you claim saved you. Going to seminary means you are saying “LORD, you saved me but I need mere man to prepare me to serve You because LORD You are not able to do such!” Repentance needed!
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:5-10
“Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?” Isaiah 2:22
Seminarians are taught half-truths, man’s philosophies, pagan/occultic practices (example: contemplative prayer, spiritual formation, etc.), marketing, the curse of calvinism, etc.). They are taught to conduct a church busine$$ and in order to do such you must entertain and intentionally dodge the hard truths Jesus and His apostles taught. | Richard Foster Exposed
“DON’T you dare share the truth about the cross! If you do, God’s people will wreak havoc on my kingdom! I’ve put my preachers in place for decades now so that this explosive message could be hidden! Now don’t you dare spoil my plan!” ~SATAN
SIMPLE QUESTION: Did Jesus ever once call anyone to a “higher learning institution”? No. So, to go the way of the flesh is to depart from God’s way and thereby give oneself over to the deception of Satan himself. Jeremiah 17:4-7 … anyone with an ounce of discernment can see that the visible modern church is apostate and it can only be due to the seminarian icebergs in those pulpits that there is lukewarmness at best in the pew. Such was never the divine intention for the truth church Jesus died to save and sanctify.
JESUS never once taught His disciples how to PREACH yet He did teach them to PRAY. Today, seminaries teach their students to PREACH but not to PRAY. Should we wonder why modern building-based churches are apostate?
Paul denounced his higher learning in order to know and serve Christ truly …. and his education makes today’s lame seminary training look like a kindergarten picnic…. Philippians 3.
“Jesus sent Paul into the seminary in the desert.” Stan Podlacha
ANY local church that requires a seminary degree to be a pastor there, is apostate. Ichabod! LOOK for yourself at the fruit of modern building-based “Christianity” commandeered by seminarians…. apostate, heretical, lukewarm, hell bound! … the fruit of seminaries! You can’t pay money to be prepared by God—you must “pay” by truly repenting, laying down your life, and following Christ in a daily cross walk! you have a Bible! Study it! Memorize Scripture! Obey God!
Genuinely born again truth-seeking disciples will repent today and denounce the sham of “higher learning”—trading it in for a real walk with Christ, full of His Word and Holy Ghost. That’s His only way of using men (John 15).
Professional clergy is a diabolical scheme. seminarians were Satan’s plan from the beginning to replace, to destroy God-ordained organic Bible study by Christians (Acts 2:42; Colossians 3:16, etc.). The LORD is calling us to repent and return to Acts 2:42 and Colossians 3:16 New Testament living!
SEMINARY is a shortcut and a time waster. Jesus sends men to the cross and to Pentecost—otherwise they are not prepared or sent by Christ, the only Ordainer (John 15:16). They are self-sent.
ANY local church assembly or organization that requires a certificate or degree is carnal, worldly minded and absolutely apostate. The Word says to “know them which labour among you” (1 Thessalonians 5:12), and when you know a man, you know if he is capable to teach God’s pure Word!
NEVER allow some corruptED seminary dupe override the WORD itself and common sense God gave you!
Satan’s Seminaries are a Sham! YOU show me a church “pastored” by one of Satan’s seminarians and I will show you a cold, dead, apostate sham!
History reveals that seminaries and seminarians are a curse. Those churches which require a seminary degree from their pastors are Ichabod, backslidden, lukewarm, and kindling for the fires of hell. Example: It is a historical fact that the methodist church, which was previously on fire via John Wesley only backslid when it began requiring a seminary degree for their pastors. The seminary agenda is not God’s. The enemy has hi-jacked those institutions long ago. Among other errant things, seminarians learn:
- “Den of thieves” Marketing—making merchandise of the people (Matthew 21:15-17; 2 Peter 2:1-3)
- False doctrines such as “eternal security” and Calvinism (Jude 3-4, etc.).
- Traditions of mere sinful men (Matthew 7:13; Colossians 2:8)
- Entertainment: How to be “relevant”—Seminarian pastors have traded in the cross to be cool and by doing so are sending themselves and those they mislead to eternal damnation.
- Ecumenism which is the amalgamating of true Christians with the antichrist cult of Rome/Catholic church.
Seminaries today manufacture and train cross-less counterfeits to “make merchandise of” that which calls itself the house of God. They are taught and sent out to make their franchise churches into a a “den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:12-17; 2 Peter 2:1-3)
Your education, gifting, seminary degree, title, and church building mean nothing in Christ’s kingdom until laid down and in true repentance you admit your own utter poverty and great, desperate need for the presence mercy, grace, and anointing of God. Repent and denounce it all as Paul did. Read Philippians 3 and obey the LORD by following the apostle Paul’s example. To prepare men, the un-changing Savior sent men to the cross and to Pentecost (baptism with the Holy Spirit). To obtain a seminary degree, a man must sell Christ out for the trinkets of this fleeting world and in doing so, such a counterfeit fraud has sold his eternal soul to the devil and will be used of Satan to mislead and damn the souls of many. Men only get degrees to get a church job and make money. Authentic disciples of Christ allow the Savior who found and saved them to sanctify, teach, and equip them by His Word and Holy Spirit (Acts 4:13, etc.). There is no such thing or example in the New Testament Scriptures of a man of God going to a higher learning institution to learn to serve God. Jesus never sent anyone to a seminary – but rather to the cross and Pentecost (baptism with the Holy Ghost). Seminary is clearly seen in Jeremiah 17:5-7. Grace and Truth Bible School Online
Salvador Cruz writes: “I don’t call anyone my pastor except Jesus Christ….. He’s my one and only Pastor, humans are my brothers and sisters.”
What Salvador Cruz states is Bible: That is exactly what Jesus taught beloved!
“But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” Matthew 23:8-12
One disciples writes:
“I have found over the past number of years, as I have ‘answered a call’ from a church to be a pastor or teacher or whatever, I have mostly found that they are looking for the ‘whatever.’ Most of the churches that require a man-given degree are not looking for shepherds to feed the flock of God, but administrators to run the church after their likeness and their own carnal image. Their image by the way is usually the thing they care about most—numbers, programs, and ‘Do we look good?’ etc. No cross. Apostate. Ichabod. I have stayed at none of these churches because, other than running through the list in Timothy or Titus, most churches require no spiritual qualifications such as: Are you born again by the Spirit of God? Have you been baptized in obedience to God’s Word.? Have you made full proof of your ministry? Are you an ambassador for Christ? Do you see the need to equip the saints for ministry? If a church is not satisfied with the words of Jesus, Paul, John the Baptist, Amos, David, Isaiah and Nehemiah, they won’t want the likes of me.”
Read closely the words of Jesus recorded in John 15:16. HE ALONE can ordain you and so we do despite to the Son of God when we seek sinful man’s sham of an “ordination.”
A follower of Jesus writes:
“If God has called you to The Ministry, then God will provide the open door for that ministry. Ministry as it was first given to the Levites in the Old Testament was First a ministry UNTO THE LORD. Our modern age has forgotten that. Not all ministry toward man is pulpit in a church style. All believers have been called to ministry but most are not willing to obey that calling, instead desiring more, they seek the positional style of ministry.”
In the stated qualifications for an elder in the body of Christ, there is no mention of obtaining a degree from the world that claims to be of Christ via a “Christian” seminary (1 Timothy 3). I didn’t even hint that knowing the Word of God isn’t important YET WHO EVER SAID YOU NEED SEMINARY FOR SUCH? Only a lazy fraud feels the need to pay a seminary tens of thousands of dollars to be indoctrinated by devils. BIBLICAL CASE AGAINST SEMINARY: SAVE YOUR MONEY AND TIME—GO TO THE SAVIOR, NOT SEMINARY! Jesus learned the Word without the human and demonic pollution of seminary (John 7:14-16).
SO, you claim JESUS saved you but then denied the Son of God the place of sanctifying you? So, you signed up to pay big money to get mere sinful men in a seminary to teach, prepare, and equip you? Time to repent and return to Christ before it’s too late.
Seminarian sissies use sissy Bibles. The last thing they use is the real Bible —The King James Bible. Counterfeits use catholic corrupted and controlled counterfeit “bibles.”
Scott Boyd writes:
“It was the history surrounding the evil antichrist Catholic Church and how the majority of all the other churches follow many of their antichrist teachings (those of paganism and sun worship customs) instead of following what is clearly taught in the Bible, that sent me down the road of searching for truth. While doing so I completed hundreds of different Bible studies from every denomination I could find and with that said, I found that nearly all of them taught only bits and pieces of watered down Scripture and doctrine, and instead, there were many of the antichrist examples of the Catholic Church in their teachings. Very few actually taught the truth about Scripture. Unless someone does deep research, they will never know the truth because the teachers of false doctrine and deception mix the lies with truth, so it sounds pretty good at first, but they leave out the main substance of the Truth of God’s Word. I have seen this over and over through many studies. It Definitely takes a thorough study of the Bible in order to be able to detect all the false doctrine and deception that is involved in nearly all of the churches.”
Nancy Cote writes:
“Spoken like a true Shepherd being taught to love God’s Word and fear God and NOT man! God, my prayer is that you would bring TRUE repentance and salvation to these cemetery motivational speakers. God is shaking and exposing what is not of His Spirit. WOF, NAR, Seeker Sensitive/Emergent, Southern Baptist etc. I pray that we can get just one true repented heart out of each bunch to call out sin in the camp for what it is.”
MESSAGE RECEIVED:
“Some seminaries who indoctrinate with their presupotionalist theology are really bad, but some folks just go to learn about everything that has been taught. Education rather then indoctrination. You don’t need seminary to be anointed but if your gonna teach dogmatic about what Scripture means you should learn a bit about how to get context and such.”
REPLY:
Hi Kevin. God bless you. Inevitably there is definitely going to be indoctrination. There’s actually no reason to waste so much time and money on going to seminary when all the books (NT/OT surveys, etc) can be bought anywhere Christian books are sold. Commentaries are readily available. Simply diligently studying the King James Bible daily is all one needs along with studying with brothers and sister in small groups. This is the stated, divined-revealed design for Christ’s New Testament church and so everything else is counterfeit (Acts 2:42; Colossians 3:16).
MESSAGE RECEIVED:
“It is important to have a degree in theology from a university or Bible college which is recognized that shows you are a man of study… so many fall away and don’t finish their studies including pastors and their wives… It’s the same as saying we hire apprentices only on a construction site until the building crashes.”
REPLY:
No, that is not according to the New Testament but rather mere human reasoning. Among believers we are to “know them which labour among you” (1 Thessalonians 5:12). We have no hint much less instruction to go to a higher learning institute of men. In fact God hates centralizing learning which is what we saw at the tower of Babel in Genesis, right? God scattered. Satan loves centralization because then he can control what is taught such as we see in the demonic public school system. Also, you assume a man can’t study Scripture individually and with the body of Christ in his immediate location. THAT’S exactly what New Testament believers are instructed to do and that the earliest believers did (Acts 2:42; Colossians 3:17).
MESSAGE RECEIVED:
“Seminaries exist because of what Jesus Christ and his disciples did! They are for the training of leadership for the church!”
RESPONSE:
Seminaries today are not teaching the original Gospel and are in fact bringing in occult teachings such as contemplative prayer which is part of spiritual formation…. which is transcendental meditation … lighthousetrailsresearch.com … We have a Bible and the Holy Ghost….. no need for the training of mere sinful men to do God’s Word.
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Apostasy
The Audacity of Defending the New Versions
The Promise of Divine Condemnation
for all who Dare Add to Or
Take Away from His Word
“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (including the lake of fire).” Revelation 22:18-19
If you defend the new versions by attempting to detract from the King James Bible, please answer these simple questions:
4 SILENCING VERSES AND QUESTIONS – Here are the 5 verses I compare with people. There is rarely an argument when a King James and a new version are laid open and compared side by side. Watch this:
Matthew 17:21
(KJB) “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.“
(NIV) (whole verse omitted)
Removed in new versions because Satan didn’t want God’s people to know how to cast him out. And you agree with this?
Acts 8:37
(KJB) “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
(NIV) Removed in new versions because Satan didn’t want God’s people to know that water baptism doesn’t save anyone. One must first repent and believe on the LORD Jesus to be saved. Satan tries to confuse the salvation issue but “God …. is not the author of confusion.” (1 Corinthians 14:33)
Romans 8:1
(KJB) “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
(NIV) “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
What’s missing? Half the verse is missing which is in the original Greek. Verses chopped in half because Satan wants believers to believe his ‘once saved always saved’ lie. And this is okay with you?
Colossians 1:14
(KJB) “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”
(NIV) “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.“
“Through his BLOOD” removed because the LORD Jesus is Satan’s enemy. And you side with Satan who’s removing Christ’s very blood from redemption and forgiveness of sins? Are you saying the LORD is a liar by agreeing that there is redemption outside of Christ’s blood? (Hebrews 9:22)
1 John 5:7-8
(KJB) “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. {8} And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.“
(NIV) “For there are three that testify: {8} the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.“
This is the clearest verse in the Bible on the triune nature of God. It’s all but removed from the new versions or neutered to mean nothing because Satan didn’t want God’s people to understand the nature of the Godhead. And you agree with Christ’s enemy on this?
Saints, never argue this topic, just show them. Write these verses above on a sticky and put them in your Bible. Memorize and cross-reference these references so you can be ready always to give an answer (1 Peter. 3:15). If someone can’t see the hand of the enemy here it’s due to their walking in darkness. This is why some don’t fear God and can’t see Christ’s truth and value it. Darkness due to sin is the root reason a person could crassly dismiss this diabolical travesty. You can’t argue someone into the truth. They must choose to repent – otherwise you will be talking to a brick wall of antichrist unbelief.
So Let’s Review:
Let’s see… How can you possibly justify “the blood” being removed from Colossians 1:14? How about the fact that the new versions chopped Romans 8:1 in half? That okay? Not with God (Revelation 22:18-19). How about the butchering of 1 John 5:7? You okay with the fact that Matthew 17:21 has been removed?
ANY person who has the ignorance and audacity to go so far as to defend the new per-versions of the “Bible,” is utterly in need of repentance.
Do the new versions not come from the same manuscripts as did the Jehovah’s Witness corrupted “bible”?
If you are reading a new version, you have a Vatican Bible. So sorry if this offends you friend …. it’s the undeniable historical fact. God bless us to know the LORD and to have His discernment lest we unknowingly walk in darkness.
“The Alexandrian minds believe the Bible is not perfect and can be improved by their great scholarship, but this is actually a spiritual illness of Egypt (Ex. 15:26). This terrible spiritual illness is called A.I.D.S. (Alexandrian Idiots Degrading Scripture). The Antiochan mentality believes the Bible is perfect and cannot be improved. God promised to preserve His inspired word (Ps. 12:6-7; Jer. 32:36) and the humble mind of the common man simply believes God (1 Thess. 2:13). Faith is simply believing what God says (Isa. 66:2; Acts 27:25; Rom. 10:17; 2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 11:1-6). THE ALEXANDRIAN CULT is ALL people who REJECT the FACT of the KJB being “THE” FINAL AUTHORITY; which means there is only “ONE” OBJECTIVE STANDARD OF TRUTH, NOT many! Because these people are afraid of there being an absolute TRUTH that will judge them. That means no loopholes, only conviction. This cult is people who use and support the new modern PERversions of the (b)ible (NIV, NASV, NKJV, TNIV,… ESV, and all others etc…)! THE ALEXANDRIAN CULT is anyone that doesn’t believe that the KJB is Inherent, Inerrant, Infallible, PERFECT, INSPIRED WORD OF GOD WITHOUT “ERRORS”! Brian Sirois
THE CREED OF THE ALEXANDRIAN CULT: (by Brian Sirois)
1. There is NO FINAL AUTHORITY but God.
2. Since God is a SPIRIT, there is NO FINAL AUTHORITY that can be seen, heard, read, felt or handled. …
3. Since all books are MATERIAL, there is NO BOOK ON THIS EARTH THAT IS THE FINAL AND ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY on what is right and what is wrong; what constitutes TRUTH and what constitutes ERROR.
4. There WAS a series of writings one time which, IF they had all been put into a BOOK as soon as they were written the first time, WOULD HAVE constituted an infallible and final authority by which to judge truth and error.
5. However, this series of writings was LOST, and the God Who inspired them was UNABLE TO PRESERVE THEIR CONTENT through Bible-believing Christians at Antioch (Syria), where the first Bible teachers were (Acts 13:1), and where the first missionary trip originated (Acts 13:1-6), and where the word “CHRISTIAN” originated (Acts 11:26).
6. So, God chose to ALMOST preserve them through Gnostics and philosophers from Alexandria, Egypt, even though God called HIS SON OUT of Egypt (Mat. 2), JACOB OUT of Egypt (Gen. 49), ISRAEL OUT of Egypt (Exod. 15), and JOSEPH’S BONES OUT of Egypt (Exod. 13).
7. So, there are two streams of Bibles: the most accurate – though, of course, there is NO FINAL, ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY FOR DETERMINING TRUTH AND ERROR: it is a matter of “preference” – are the Egyptian translations from Alexandria, Egypt, which are “almost the originals,” although NOT QUITE.
8. The most INACCURATE TRANSLATIONS were those that brought about the GERMAN REFORMATION (Luther, Zwingli, Boehler, Zinzendorf, Spener, etc.) and the worldwide MISSIONARY MOVEMENT of the English speaking people: the Bible that Sunday, Torrey, Moody, Finney, Spurgeon, Whitfield, Wesley, and Chapman used.
9. But we can “tolerate” these if those who believe in them will tolerate US. After all, since THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE AND FINAL AUTHORITY THAT ANYONE CAN READ, TEACH, PREACH, OR HANDLE, the whole thing is a matter of “PREFERENCE.” You may prefer what you prefer, and we will prefer what WE prefer: let us live in peace, and if we cannot agree on anything or everything, let us all agree on one thing: THERE IS NO FINAL, ABSOLUTE, WRITTEN AUTHORITY OF GOD ANYWHERE ON THIS EARTH.
That is the creed of the Alexandrian Cult.^^^ Brian S.
“KJB Only-ist” OR Honest Bible Student?
Most who read the KJB only do so out of conviction based on personal comparison and not out of preference or to belong to a certain group. Antagonists attempt to ridicule those Bible believers who have discernment and conviction and therefore read the KJB. Mock on.
People have become so delusional that they mock those who see the obvious, major doctrinal differences in the versions and read the KJB only. This alone demonstrates the impact of the new versions. In other words, just because you see the corruptions in the new versions and so read the real English Bible, you are mocked. Rejoice.
Since they have no other leg to stand on, some unrepentant defenders of the new versions want to try to demonize those who can see clearly enough to see that the new versions are corrupt.
To see the purity of the KJB and the corruptions of the new versions is simply being an astute, honest student of the LORD…. whereby the enemy and his works are discerned. That makes you Christ’s disciple not a “KJB onlyist.” Let’s just talk the truth instead of trying to classify people who see these things.
The unfathomable audacity of those who defend the corrupt new versions is mind boggling until you realize that it’s a spiritual matter. They are walking in darkness, blinded by “the god of this world” who is Satan himself, the author of those new versions they defend (2 Corinthians 4:4). I’m speaking of those who still defend the new versions after being clearly shown that 1) It’s okay to remove the very “blood” of Jesus from salvation (Col. 1:14), to 2) remove the clearest verse in God’s Word testifying to His triune nature (1 John 5:7), 3) to say that it’s just important to be in Christ once and no need to continue in the spirit and not the flesh (Rom. 8:1), and 4) that fasting and prayer are not important even though Jesus says they are (Matt. 17:21).
COMMON EXCUSE FROM SKEPTICS:
QUESTION RECEIVED:
“Most KJB Only Christians appear to be legalistic. Explain?”
REPLY:
Hi David. Some of those who use the new versions are rabid fanatics about them and appear legalistic also. In the opinion of many, some of the new version readers simply are what Jude calls lascivious – they like fables – stories, fairytales (Jude 3-4). Many KJB-only folk are simply God-fearing, have looked into this matter, and therefore have His discernment to see the hand of the enemy in the new versions …. which is more than obvious. Those who insist upon the King James Bible and have no respect for the perversion counterfeits only appear to be legalistic due to the lack of understanding of those who would surmise such and due to Satan’s impressions upon their own darkened minds. A simple comparison of verses between the KJB and the new versions leaves no question of the diabolical origins of the new versions … nothing else needed except a truly repentant heart for God …..
The fact that there are significant doctrinal differences in the King James Bible and the new versions is what’s at question. The scapegoat of some is to try to stereotype those who have a bit of discernment and therefore see these differences. Of course, many have not looked into the matter enough to see the blaring differences. This is something one should do before weighing in on this important matter. | Compare This!
EXCUSE:
“Oh but the Bible was originally written in Greek and Hebrew.”
REPLY:
Yes and God has kept His Word to translate it into our language (Ps. 12:6-7). The idea that God somehow dropped the ball after the original manuscripts borders on a blasphemous indictment against the Almighty and seems to make excuse for us to live any way we wish since the insinuation is that we really don’t have His pure Word. Nonsense. If such were the case that makes Jesus’ words null and void when He said “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”(Matthew 4:4) And “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” (Luke 4:4) After all, how are we supposed to live according to “every word of God” if we really don’t have God’s pure Word? Did the LORD lie to us when He promised to “preserve” His Word to us? (Psalms 12:6-7) Will you call the LORD a liar? The devil himself has done a number on many. There was only the need for one English Bible and that was complete in the KJB. The new versions are a greed-driven, money-making scam and those peddling their poisonous wares have duped many and made a fortune doing so. Was this not foretold? – “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily (secretly) shall bring (slip) in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And MANY shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” (2 Peter 2:1-3)
SOME SPOUT:
“Well the KJB wasn’t the first English Bible:
REPLY:
True. There were 6 English versions leading up to the 7th (which means completion), the KJB. This fulfills Psalms 12:6-7 which states “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” …… “tried” and “purified” (perfected) how many times? – “seven times.”
ANOTHER ERRONEOUS IDEA:
“But you have to learn Hebrew and Greek and have a Greek and Hebrew Bible.”
REPLY:
I have a Greek Interlinear Bible. Yet we have God’s Word in our own language and Jesus says that the divine Person of the Holy Spirit is our teacher, not the original language. See John 14:26; 16:13; 1 John 2:20, 27.
MESSAGE RECEIVED:
“But my child can’t learn the KJB.”
REPLY:
Hi. I taught my son the KJB from birth and he had no problem at all understanding it because of the Holy Spirit and the self-interpretive nature of the King James Bible. Memorize and believe Psalms 119:105 and Isaiah 55:11. Gail Riplinger’s book titled “In Awe of Thy Word” is a masterpiece on this topic and much more.
SMOKESCREENS:
To cover for your favorite little fairy tale “bible,” you cast doubt on the preserved word of God by pretending to correct it? Where is the fear of God in your heart?
Wescott and Hort
If you are reading a fake “bible” ….
2 Wicked Ungodly men – Wescott and Hort – participated in the corrupting of those manuscripts from which those new “bibles” come.
Without the slightest apology to anyone, I, with hundreds of thousands of Christ’s disciples today, have no respect for the NIV, NASB, ESV, or any other Wescott and Hort perversion of Satan that charlatans have sought to pawn off on the gullible. If you read a new version of the Bible, consider this:
***WOULD YOU read a “bible” by men who said this concerning the Scriptures?:
“I reject the word infallibility of Holy Scriptures overwhelmingly.” (Westcott, The Life and Letters of Brook Foss Westcott, Vol. I, p.207).
“Our Bible as well as our Faith is a mere compromise.” (Westcott, On the Canon of the New Testament, p. vii).
“Evangelicals seem to me perverted. . .There are, I fear, still more serious differences between us on the subject of authority, especially the authority of the Bible.” (Hort, The Life and Letters of Fenton John Anthony Hort, Vol. I, p.400)
“Dr. Wilbur Pickering writes that, Hort did not hold to a high view of inspiration.” (The Identity of the New Testament Text, p.212)
Perhaps this is why both the RV (which Westcott and Hort helped to translate) and the American edition of it, the ASV, translated 2nd Timothy 3:16 as, “Every scripture inspired of God” instead of “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (KJB).
If you are reading a new version “bible” it came directly from the work of these wicked, unsaved men.
ALL new “bible” versions come from the corrupted manuscripts which were perverted by these two evil men, Wescott and Hort.
To realize through simple, personal comparison that the new versions are perverted and the KJB is God’s pure Word is not arrogance. It’s actually arrogance to READ the very significant differences, to see the removal and twisting of cardinal divine truth and then try to defend it.
Don’t Like Talking About This? Why Not?
—-IS THERE NOT A CAUSE? My big QUESTION is how in the world can a true follower of Christ not stand and condemn these perversions???? Forget how pure the King James Bible is or is not …. these new per-versions are nothing less than diabolically inspired. I am amazed at how some subtly attempt to cast doubt on the real Bible and simultaneously defend the new versions of the Bible. It’s certainly not the divine Person of the Holy Spirit inspiring someone to cast doubt on His Word (KJB) and defend satanic corruptions. Shannon Cook notes: “They have bought into this lie: “Yea, hath God said?” (Gen 3:1) And this one: “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be [like] the most High.” (Isaiah 14:14) Wanting to be gods themselves, therefore ignorant of the salvation unto Christ alone.”
Satan is still doing the same thing and using “Christians” to help his cause. Find out here why so many remnant believers are trashing their new versions for the real Bible.
Shannon Cook aptly exposes the work of Satan:
“John 1:14 tells us “And the Word (capital letter W) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Now, remove words, (modern translations) and the serpent attempts to remove the very deity of Jesus Christ. HELLO!
“How does a man live not on bread alone, but by [every word] that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4), when devils, through modern translations and versions are working overtime to blind and bind the bride of Christ, through these modern (per)versions?
Perhaps the main reason many members of the body of Christ have not a love for the truth is because so much has been removed?
And they know not the truth because they don’t study to show themselves approved unto God.
How is it that the bride shall live by [every word] that proceedeth out of the mouth of God when they’ve embraced doctrines of devils? (1 Timothy 4:1)” Shannon Cook
Note:
God’s Word is “quick (alive, living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword” … “For the word of God is quick (alive, living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
Satan’s little plastic butter knives (NIV, NASB, ESV, etc.) are fairytale, mythical stories basically …. neutered of divine potency …. why do you think that the witches, warlocks and all satanists hate the KJB? Is that a clue as to who the father/author of the new versions is?
This is a fascinating topic. Are There Significant Differences in the Bible Versions?
Personally, I don’t want to waste time on folks that are going to argue to defend the very work of Satan and then try to turn it around on those who believe God kept His Word to preserve His Word (Psalms 12-6-7). If after being shown the clear and large, significant differences in the version and still arguing to defend them, I am done … with folk like that. Those who defend the work of Satan obviously belong to him. Of these religiously cloaked devils, Jesus says “Ye are of your father the devil.” (John 8:44)
Speaking to the religious leaders of His day and our day, Jesus says:
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” John 8:44
Shannon Cook notes:
“The KJB is the inerrant Word of God. God preserves His Word. Psalms 12:6,7; Deuteronomy 4:1,2; Proverbs 30:5,6; Mark 13:31; Revelation 22:18,19. Man however, and modern “translations” are fallible. We believe that the writers of the KJB (not version) were in fact carried along by the Holy Ghost.
We’re also inspired to believe this way. No righteousness of ours, but of the Christ.
Look at the Bible boom just within the last few decades. Amazing! Just in time for the end of the age. The deception age that we’ve been warned about!” Shannon Cook
This is a fascinating topic. Are There Significant Differences in the Bible Versions? << This is SafeGuardYourSoul’s main page on Bible Versions.
Lineage of the Modern Corrupt Versions
The Message “Bible” Exposed | Bible Versions Category
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Support | STORE | Podcasts | H.O.T. Bible Study [podcast] | Bible Agnostics Exposed | How to Spot a Fake Bible [podcast] | WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO CAN’T UNDERSTAND THE KJB? [podcast] | New American Standard Version “Bible” NASV Catastrophe Exposed | The Audacity of Defending the New Versions | Do We Have God’s Word or Do You Need to Know the Original Languages? [podcast] | Bible Versions Category |
Abiding
The LORD Desires to Completely CLEAR You!
The LORD Desires to Completely CLEAR You!
The reason God gave His only begotten Son was to clear you of all your sin in His regeneration, to bring you into His eternal family for fellowship with Him.
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” John 17:21
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3
When God clears a man at the moment of salvation or thereafter, so should we! When any man truly repents there will be definite fruit to prove it. When one obeys sound biblical doctrine the result will always be that he will bring forth fruit to demonstrate he truly repented, and is cleared by the LORD and must be cleared by us. After the fornicator in the church of Corinth repented, he was cleared and the LORD, through Paul, instructed the believers in that assembly to forgive, clear, and love him.
“So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. 8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.” 2 Corinthians 2:7-8
Remember this from the prodigal son parable our LORD taught us?
“I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance … 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:7, 10
When someone returns to the LORD from sin, regardless of their past, with or without Christ, there is great celebration in Heaven and should be also among the saints of Christ on the earth.
A fresh reading of Luke 15 is highly recommended where Jesus gives us 3 parables to teach the restorative love of God!
WATCH THIS: When we repent we openly renounce and are clear…. God is good.
Godly Sorrow brings the blessings of God and a clearing of past sin.
“Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what CLEARING OF YOURSELVES, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be CLEAR in this matter.” 2 Corinthians 7:11
Example: Remember how the fornicator in 1 Corinthians 5 was turned over to Satan and then repented and God cleared Him? Read 2 Corinthians 2 for the “CLEARING.” In this verse above, Paul is addressing this very issue and the sorrow, diligent obedience, and consequent “CLEARING” the Corinthian saints experienced. First they allowed the fornicator to function in their midst whereas Paul had to come in and instruct them to turn the transgressor over to Satan (1 Corinthians 5). Then, as a result, the backslider repented.
“He says, what clearing of yourselves. This does not mean that they tried to justify or excuse themselves, but rather that by taking resolute action, they tried to clear themselves of any further guilt or blame in the matter. Their change in attitude led to this change in action. What indignation may refer to their attitude toward the sinner because of the reproach he brought on the name of Christ. But more probably it refers to their attitude toward themselves for ever having allowed such a thing to go on for so long without taking action on it. Paul then adds: In all things you ‘ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.’ Of course, we are not to understand by this that they were never to blame, but simply that they had done everything they could to take the proper action and to act as they should have acted in the first place.” William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary
“Clearing of yourselves – From either sharing in, or approving of, his sin. Indignation – That ye had not immediately corrected the offender. Fear – Of God’s displeasure, or lest I should come with a rod. Vehement desire – To see me again. Zeal – For the glory of God, and the soul of that sinner. Yea, revenge – Ye took a kind of holy revenge upon yourselves, being scarce able to forgive yourselves. In all things ye – As a church. Have approved yourselves to be pure – That is, free from blame, since ye received my letter.” John Wesley
“In all things, etc. – In the whole of your conduct in this affair since ye have received my letter, ye have approved yourselves to be clear, ἁγνους; not only to be clear of contumacy and obstinate persistence in your former conduct, but to have done all in the compass of your power to rectify the abuses which had crept in among you. The Corinthians were not clear, i.e. innocent or void of blame in the fact, but they were clear of all blame in their endeavors to remove the evil.” Adam Clarke
The Corinthian saints repented, obeyed God by turning the unrepentant sinner in their midst over to Satan, and were then forgiven and cleared of their sin of allowing the un-repentant fornicator to remain in their company (1 Corinthians 5; 2 Corinthians 2 and 7).
Today, is the LORD showing you something in your life that you must turn back over to Satan where it came from – to rid your heart, your life of a sin?
Interestingly, this 2 Corinthians 7 chapter begins with this:
“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1
When we simply agree with the LORD, His Word, and turn to Him afresh and away from what He calls sin, confessing it to Him for what it is, He will immediately forgive us and promises to grant us a clearing, a clear conscience.
“Now the end (chief purpose) of the commandment (written Word) is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:” 1 Timothy 1:5
The LORD made it clear that He intends for His children to be possessed with a clear conscience which is a gift He alone provided through the perfect sacrifice of His only begotten Son.
“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:14
“A disciplined conscience is a man’s best friend. It may not be his most amiable, but it is his most faithful monitor.” Austin Phelps
Have you ever had a past sin nag you for many years after you committed and even confessed and were forgiven for it?
WHEN we DO what is right, then and only then do we have the bless-ed confirmation of a clear conscience. AND, doing what’s right begins with re-turning, turning afresh to our LORD and confessing all sin.
“God is greater than our heart”
“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” 1 John 3:18-21
In fellowshipping with other men who serve our LORD, I’ve often heard them say how that sins they committed in the past still bother them in a hindering way. Yet, we know that God knows all these things and “is greater than our heart” and provided a complete salvation through the blood of His only begotten Son!
“WHEN HE HAD BY HIMSELF purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3
Even though 90% of today’s pastors prove themselves to be false by never mentioning this, we must never ever lose sight of the truth that God is “Holy, holy, holy” and He commands us to “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Revelation 4:8).
“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16
Are we presently allowing sin in our own lives, including keeping company with someone who claims to be Christ’s and yet is living in sin? Are you in need of doing an inventory check on your current friends – namely those who name Jesus as their Savior? Read this unchanging divine truth and note the many specific sins listed here:
“I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” 1 Corinthians 5:9-13
When we truly repent and obey the counsel, the Word of God, only then will we be cleared in conscience and before God and His people. True repentance always, without exception, brings forth a changed life – a life set apart to the LORD (Matthew 3:7-10; Luke 19:1-10).
The fact that our LORD is correcting us today clearly proves how much He loves us. When the LORD points out our sin, it’s because He loves us, He wants us to repent, to return to Him, agree with Him, and depart from that sin. This is all so He can clear us!
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:19
Refreshing Always Follows Fresh Repentance
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” Acts 3:19
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Hebrews 8:12
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Read 1 Corinthians 5, 2 Corinthians 2 and 7.
Yes, we’ve all been hurt by others and we have also hurt others, right? Let’s take accountability for our own evil and watch what God does. Blaming others without taking the blame due to us is a deep, endless ditch.
This morning I prayed “LORD, if I have angered or hurt someone, anyone, please let it be revealed so that amends can be made, in Jesus’ name, amen Father.”
In this passage below, our LORD is addressing being easily angered as well as making amends when we intentionally or unintentionally have harmed another.
“But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly…” Matthew 5:22-25
PRAYER: My Father in Heaven, I come to You now on the sole basis of the holy name and blood of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Here and now I ask You LORD to convict, grant repentance, and complete clearing of any and all sin in my life. Please sanctify my life dear LORD. LORD Jesus thank You for dying on that cross, shedding Your precious blood for all my sins. Please bless me with a oneness with You and the Father and a clear conscience. Be glorified in my life dear LORD. I love You LORD Jesus. Amen.
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