Saturday 28 June 2008

How to spot the false church

Satan has a false church in the world, a counterfeit. It doesn't go under any one name or denomination and isn't found in just one locality, but he's at work in them all, everywhere. How can you spot the false church?

One answer is that the false church never preaches repentance. Repentance is an essential hallmark of true spokesmen for God. The prophets preached repentance, e.g. Ezekiel 18:30
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, says the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn  yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
When John the Baptist came to prepare the people for the Messiah's appearance, he preached as follows:
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2)
When on earth, Jesus preached repentance, e.g. Luke 13:3
"... unless ye repent, you shall all likewise perish."
When he sent out his apostles during his earthly ministry,
"they went out, and preached that men should repent." (Mark 6:12)
On the day of Pentecost, the people asked Peter what they needed to do. The answer?
"Then Peter said unto them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.'" (Acts 2:38)
And Paul:
"[God] now commands all men every where to repent: because he has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has appointed; of which he has given assurance unto all men, in that he has raised him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31)
You know that friendly fellow wearing religious garb who you see on the television, in the papers, and so on, supposedly speaking on behalf of the Christian church? He never mentions repentance? He always has something to say about the need of the hour, what the government should do, what the Christian response is, etcetera, etcetera... but he never has anything to say about repentance? Now you know which church he belongs to!

1 comment:

Dan B. said...

Indeed, David. Nowhere is this preaching and thinking more prevalent than here in the States. The comfort (or the desire for it) often produces a breeding ground for such preaching.

Great post.