"So no, I'm not too big on religion...and not very fond of politics and economics either...And why should I be? They are the man-created trinity of terrors that ravages the earth and deceives those I care about. What mental turmoil and anxiety does any human face that is not related to one of those three?"
William Paul Young, The Shack
I confess that I was once an avid attender of Sunday morning services at my favorite church. It was here where I found teaching and comfort in the brotherhood of those around me. Yet, it was also where I found a lot of pain, frustration and questions. I heard a dear friend of mine this past week pose the question on why we Christians are so apt to hold steadfast to what the mainstream church throws our way without question. Think about it, we go to church on Sunday and we sit in our assigned pews or classes and listen to a pastor or teacher regale us with a story from the bible or a snazzy sermon which is seldom meant to cause questions but to relay the our orders from God through our local pastor. It is but through one man, or group of pastors, that the teaching of the Lord is entrusted. Tell me this doesn't sound like a cult. Now, more than a few believers would look unfavorably on me for comparing the Christian faith to a cult...I get it. But it's not the believers in the faith that I are the basis of this cult. No, they are merely followers being led by their teachers. Tell me, is it common practice to question the words of your pastor? Are you looked upon favorably for questioning his words? My guess is that anyone who does so would get the same response which I myself received the few times I made it be known to a pastor that I disagreed with their sermon. You would think that I had created some unpardonable sin. A good teacher is one that allows their students to question what they are being taught. Good luck with that in the mainstream church. No, as Christians we are to accept the traditional church mantra without question. We all know the story. God created the world. God sent Jesus to wipe away our sins. Jesus was crucified and laid in a tomb and rose from the dead three days later. It is Jesus who now sits at the right hand of the Father. This is what we're told to believe.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God, for many false prophets have come out into the world.
1 John 4: 1, Concordant New Testament
The first time I was introduced to the words of John who calls upon us to test the spirits I was taken aback. I'm supposed to question those who bring me the word of the Lord? Yes! In reality, anyone can lay claim that they are speaking on behalf of the Lord. The names Charles Manson, David Koresh and Jim Jones are painful reminders of what can happen when we blindly follow man into religion. It was Jones who, claiming to be the messiah, called upon over 900 of his followers to kill themselves one evening in Guyana. If someone seemingly speaking on account of the Lord asked this of you...what would your reaction be? By blindly following the mainstream church mantra over the years, we have missed the boat on the very truth of Jesus in our lives. The apostle Paul explains to us that it is Christ who is alive in us {Romans 6:5, Galatians 2:20}. Yet for many believers this is a subject prone to blasphemy. This week I asked a believer friend of mine to read Paul's writing in Galatians and tell me how he then saw Jesus. His response was a blank look of confusion. I get it. The cult of Christianity had claimed another victim. Why is knowing the truth of Christ in us such an important issue? Because when we know Jesus we eliminate the middle man when it comes to hearing from the Lord. No longer do we require a pastor or leader to speak to us the voice of the Lord. When we know ourselves as an extension of Christ, we can more readily hear what He is saying to us. Never has Jesus put it upon my heart to drink poison and kill myself. Instead of being the ordained voice of the Lord, the leaders of our mainstream church are but His servants to guide Gods children unto Him.
Woe to you, Pharisees! Seeing that you are loving the front seat in the synagogues and the salutations in the markets.
Luke 11: 43, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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